More police departments use psychological screening - Quad Cities ...

Psychological screenings for police candidates are becoming more common as law enforcement agencies stress a sound mind as well as a sound body.

The application process for police hopefuls includes physical fitness tests, written exams and internal interviews. But over the past decade, many departments have added psychological screenings as part of the vetting process.

"It's a special job," Silvis Police Chief Bill Brasche said. "This job is not simply throwing the bad guy in jail. It's a lot more than that."

Many police departments hire local psychologists or third-party companies to administer psychological screenings, which usually include personality diagnostic tests and one-on-one interviews.

"It's a job that can lead to vulnerability, to post-traumatic stress, to alcoholism, to aggressiveness," said Dr. Kirk Witherspoon, a Moline clinical and forensic psychologist, who interviews about 15 to 20 candidates a year for several area police departments.

The Silvis, Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Aledo and Milan departments all require psych evaluations for potential candidates, but the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office does not.

"As far as I know, we've never done psychological evaluations," Sheriff Jeff Boyd said, adding that they have "kicked the idea around."

He said deputy candidates undergo a rigorous application process administered with the help of the Rock Island County Merit Commission, and it's a process in which he has confidence.

Sheriff Boyd said his office sometimes hires officers from other departments, many of whom already have undergone psychological screenings. All new deputies are also on a year's probation, he said.

"I believe there is enough in place that, if it isn't a good fit, we'll find out," Sheriff Boyd said.

Dr. Witherspoon said patterns of violence, drug and alcohol use and depression are among the issues he looks for to help predict how a potential officer may respond to stresses on the streets.

He said candidates usually already have been screened for major issues through background checks by the respective police departments, but some issues still could be revealed through his interviews with the candidate.

"You don't have to be perfect; you just have to be free of things that are very concerning," Dr. Witherspoon said.

During a typical psychological screening, he administers personality tests.

The tests help reveal behaviors such as anti-social, volatility or mood problems, unreliability, risk-taking tendencies, irritability and narcissism, and issues such asanxiety, depression, mania, paranoia, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse and excessive dominance.

Dr. Witherspoon reviews test results with the applicant, asking followup questions and discussing the applicant's history. How someone responds can be telling, he said.

"People can lie or disguise what they share or minimize the problem," but he said he can tell when candidates appear too self-doubting or too self-congratulating.

"If they can turn in a profile that looks like it was turned in by Mary Poppins, that can also tell something," Dr. Witherspoon said.

Strong candidates usually show a history of resilience, self-improvement, effective stress management and academic success and have a strong support system of family and friends.

Dr. Witherspoon sends his reports to the police department, which decides whether to hire the candidate. Police officials say poor results from a psychological screening can be the end of the line for an otherwise seemingly qualified candidate.

"Sometimes it's maturity issues," East Moline Police Chief Victor Moreno said. "It's not that they'll never be able to pass the test ... but they're just not ready then."

Milan Police Chief Shawn Johnson said he looks at indicators of a candidate's work ethic, ability to get along with others and how they handle themselves in stressful situations.

"It all comes down to public trust," Chief Brasche said. "Police are asked to solve problems and trauma at a moment's notice, do it quickly and instantly and perfectly, and fix chaotic situations, so it's a lot of pressure.

"You want to hire people that are extremely psychologically sound," he said. "We ask so much of these young people as they come in that you want to have the best ones out there.You don't want someone to abuse the position."

Still, even screenings are no guarantee that a candidate will do well on the job or be able to cope with police work five, 10 or 20 years down the road.

"It is not an easy journey. It's not an easy job to land," Chief Brasche said."And can you be wrong? Absolutely you can be wrong ... we are human just like everybody else."

He said anytime officers struggle with a problem on the job, they are encouraged to seek counseling or turn to experienced officers for advice and support.

"People are not static ? they evolve and change and not always for the better," Dr. Witherspoon said.

However,"we try to gauge people's moral ethic ... they have to be ready to chase down bad guys, but they have to contain themselves, too."

Source: http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=638797

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