Police Psychology: New Trends in Forensic Psychological Science is a relatively new specialty that can be broadly defined as the application of psychological principles and methods to assist law enforcement. This publication aims to bring together the contributions of some of the most prolific authors in the field to bridge the gap between the knowledge base of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers regarding the interface of psychological sciences and law enforcement. - Explores the contribution of psychology on the way patrol officers deal with offenders with mental illness or respond and assess the risk of vulnerable victims (e.g. domestic violence, sexual assault) - Contains ethically correct investigation techniques - Written by the foremost authorities on the subject from around the globe

The Handbook of Police Psychology features contributions from over 30 leading experts on the core matters of police psychology. The collection surveys everything from the beginnings of police psychology and early influences on the profession; to pre-employment screening, assessment, and evaluation; to clinical interventions. Alongside original chapters first published in 2011, this edition features new content on deadly force encounters, officer resilience training, and police leadership enhancement. Influential figures in the field of police psychology are discussed, including America’s first full-time police psychologist, who served in the Los Angeles Police Department, and the first full-time police officer to earn a doctorate in psychology while still in uniform, who served with the New York Police Department. The Handbook of Police Psychology is an invaluable resource for police legal advisors, policy writers, and police psychologists, as well as for graduates studying police or forensic psychology.

Go behind the scenes of police work with this unique book that opens the door to the psychological side of policing. Police Psychology: A New Specialty and New Challenges for Men and Women in Blue offers readers the opportunity to examine two different aspects of police psychology: psychology as it pertains to the personality of police officers and the application of psychology in police practices. The book takes readers inside the lives of real officers struggling with the daily quest to remain mentally healthy in the face of often-gruesome crime scenes. The actual experience of police work is illustrated through case studies and vignettes, and the text offers a template of best practices for those who practice police psychology. Other insights in this book reveal the practical side of policing, examining the use of psychology in hostage negotiation, interview and interrogation, threat assessment, and criminal profiling. Readers go behind the scenes to watch as police apply psychological principles in actual cases, and then are given the opportunity to match wits with a simulated foe themselves.

In recent years, personality assessment by professional psychologists has taken on an increasingly important role in the field of police work. Most importantly, personality assessment instruments have been utilized in the pre-employment psychological screening of police officer candidates. This psychological screening takes place at the end of the hiring process to ensure that candidates do not have personality characteristics or existing psychopathology that would interfere with their job performance. Personality assessment is also used for other applications in police psychology. These applications include fitness-for-duty evaluations (FFDEs) and second opinion evaluations of officers who challenge hiring decisions. Moreover, police psychologists are involved in a considerable amount of research in order to determine which tests and scales are most appropriate for evaluations. The present volume is divided into four parts to cover the relevant issues in personality assessment for police work. Part I provides an introduction and the basic principles of personality assessment in police psychology. Part II focuses on the major assessment instruments used in police psychology. These include the MMPI-2, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) and Hilson Tests, the M-PULSE Inventory, pre-offer integrity instruments, and the Rorschach Comprehensive System. Part III examines multiple issues in personality assessment research in the field of police psychology. Part IV covers applications of personality assessment in police psychology. These applications include pre-employment evaluations, fitness for duty evaluations, conditional second opinion psychological evaluations of candidates, using multiple sources of information when conducting mandatory or required evaluations, and the politics of personality assessment in police agencies. This unique and comprehensive text is designed for psychologists who are actively working in the field of law enforcement, including psychologists in both applied and research/academic settings.

The Psychology of Police Deadly Force Encounters: Science, Practice, and Police is a fascinating look into the reality of police work. The author integrates noted theories into a “street-wise” understanding of being a police officer. The focus of this book is on the use of deadly force by officers—a topic of considerable importance. The author discusses the psychosocial aspects of deadly force use, stemming from the individual officer, the situation, organizational influences, and the police culture. Expanding further into social issues, the controversial topic of race and use of deadly force is discussed. This depiction looks at both sides—that of racial victimization and that of the police—which helps to provide a rather unique perspective on this important issue. Of interest, the author breaks down the different dimensions of cognition as a factor in decision making among police, including the perception of the situation, the action taken depending on that perception, and the role of present and past memory. This will make for a useful training topic to alert officers to the cognitive processes that go into deadly force use—processes that they have the control to change to make a better decision. Next, the book delves into the biological factors that may be involved in police decision making—again where deadly force is involved. The various negative psychological impacts that a deadly force situation may bring about are identified and explained. This book will be useful as a tool for both law enforcement practitioners and researchers to better understand the intricacies of deadly force by the police. For researchers, the book has a multitude of references available for further exploration. It will prove to be a useful guide and reference volume for police managers and supervisors, mental health clinicians, investigators, attorneys, judges, law enforcement educators and trainers, rank and file police officers, including expert witnesses.

Violent behavior is an unavoidable aspect of human nature, and as such, it has become deeply integrated into modern society. In order to protect and defend citizens, the foundational concepts of fairness and equality must be adhered to within any criminal justice system. As such, examining police science through a critical and academic perspective can lead to a better understanding of its foundations and implications. Police Science: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly material on social problems involving victimization of minorities and police accountability. It also emphasizes key elements of police psychology as it relates to current issues and challenges in law enforcement and police agencies. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as police psychology, social climate and police departments, and media coverage, this publication is an ideal reference source for law enforcement officers, criminologists, sociologists, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on various aspects of police science.