ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how fitness-for-duty (FFD) examinations, and the findings and opinions that result from them, are shaped and restrained by several overarching considerations. It focuses on the practical and conceptual requirements of FFD evaluations for police psychologists, beginning with the initial referral and progressing to the examination procedures, formulating an opinion or determination of fitness, and communicating the results. Several excellent texts exist on the topic of FFD evaluations of police officers, but they are aimed at a mixed audience of police employers and examiners. International Association of Chiefs of Police guidelines recommend that the employer and examiner “consult before a FFD evaluations (FFDE) commences in order to ensure that an FFDE is indicated in a particular case”. The role of third-party information, primarily consisting of documents and interviews with collateral informants, is especially important given the elevated potential in FFD evaluations for either party to provide an incomplete picture of the relevant facts.
