ABSTRACT
In the 21st century, many psychological instruments are available to the law enforcement psychologist wishing to conduct evaluations of police candidates, with many offering specific law enforcement norms and report options. Although important distinctions exist between police and probation/surveillance functions, one factor causing these distinctions to blur—especially in the public’s eye—is when probation/surveillance officers carry firearms. As a rule of thumb, probation departments generally maintain higher educational standards for entry-level officer positions compared to police agencies. Of all the specialized units within probation departments, warrants units are probably the most closely aligned with traditional police functions. The California Psychological Inventory Police and Public Safety Selection Report is the only assessment instrument available to law enforcement psychologists whereby an applicant’s scores can be compared against probation officer norms. “Off-the-rack” or “one-size-fits-all” approaches to psychological assessment that too closely approximate standard police psychological evaluation methodologies are likely to miss the mark by failing to recognize important distinctions that do exist.
