| Popis: |
While employers have become increasing aware of bias in hiring practices, police pre-employment psychological evaluations are an area that has received insufficient attention (Mintz, 2020). In contrast to the growing diversity in American society, the vast majority of police officers are Caucasian and male. A recent study in 2020 found 86.9% of law enforcement officers were male (Duffin, 2021). Data from 2020 indicates 61.9% of police officers are Caucasian (datausa.io, retrieved 9/11/2022). The same data found the average age of male police officers as 39.6 and the average age of female police officer as 38.9. The present study seeks to examine the suitability findings of an agency providing pre-employment psychological evaluations for over 600 law enforcement agencies in North and South Carolina, for evidence of bias related to ethnicity, age, and gender. The agency and the psychologists it employees aspire to avoid such bias. However, this does not insure the absence of bias and it is hypothesized that some bias will are found. Determining the absence or presence of this bias, as well as the extent should it exist, will provide the agency with valuable information. This information can then be utilized to make changes in the assessment process to further reduce bias in regard to ethnicity, ages, and gender. This agency determines psychological suitability using a model examining the following factors: intellectual functioning, behavioral history, conscientiousness history, demeanor, and the results of personality testing. Deficits in any one area can result in a not-suitable finding but such a finding is often the result of deficits in more than one factor. While the assessment protocols of this agency are proprietary, they are inline with established best practices, including those of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and informed by standards/guidelines established by California Commission on Police Office Standards and Trainings in the Peace Office Psychological Screening Manual (Spielberg and Corey, 2022). Therefore, it is believed the findings of this study will be of interest to those engaged in providing pre-employment psychological evaluations for safety-sensitive employers as well as the employers themselves. |
