Psychology By The Police

The police department and its officers are provided with varied direct psychological services by the psychological teams that works with the law execution agencies. The law execution and psychology seemed mutually segregated until 1960s. However, in the following period, it can be noticed that, psychological services and law enforcement executive agencies got increasingly intermingled, which kept on expanding. This expansion occurred due to the recognition on the part of the law enforcement executives, of the continuous exposure to a complicated environment which vastly impacts the human being.

New sets of skills were provided by inclusion of psychology in law enforcement agencies. These skills form the edifice of police psychology’s core technologies that forms basic structure of psychological services. Clinical interventions, evaluation, training and organizational work forms these techniques. In order to identify effective candidate for the police department, psychological test is utilized. Further, on a varied range of emotional constancy criteria which are consistent in association with law execution work they are evaluated.  In order to determine whether after the individuals in the police department, they remain to be psychologically fit for duty, duty evaluation is required (What-when-how, 2015). When, duty to work-related injury and related the psychological factors the effectiveness of his/her performance may be affected this issue arises.  In situation when commanding officers get alert of concerned behaviors, when an officer may be requiring attention, they may opt for a fitness evaluation. Along with a wide range of personal problems when it seems that the duties associated with police work may intensify it, psychological counseling is required to be implemented. Such issues may include family problems, depression, suicidal tendencies etc. In relation to on duty distressing incidents officers are provided with psychological crisis response. Debriefing interventions that are generally of short-term forms its core technology (Kitaeff, 2011). The purpose of this technology is to provide assistance to the officers in adapting and adjusting with these incidents, which in turn reduces the scope of long-term psychological issues arising from these incidents.  In order to stretch the working arena of the officers, psychological guidance and training sessions are provided to them that includes topics like enhancing communication skills, stress management etc.  The practical application of psychology in the law execution operations constitutes the main factor of core technology of forensic (Davis, 2006). Providing assistance to the department in criminal investigation, developing the capacity of hostage negotiation, forensic hypnosis is involved in it. Anti-terrorism strategies are one of its recent developments.  In order to improve the police department’s performance the agency required psychological assistance from the organizational as well as individual officer’s perspective. This contributes in engaging them in strategic planning and promotes them in making their contribution in agency’s performance’s enhancement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Training Academy’s prior willingness to take a role of convener-facilitator further boosted the integration of psychology in the police department. This acted as a contributing factor for the police department and psychologists to find a common aspect. Other than that, some of the eminent professional organizations like International Association of Chiefs of Police and American Psychological Association acted as major contributing factor in psychology and its integration with police department. It gave shape to police psychology and in the absence of its contributions the present form of police psychology would have been impossible to form. 

There are number of aspects that affect the act of convection. The definition of crime on the part of observer’s, is one of such aspect. Other than that police sources, their practices are also some of the mentionable aspect. The observer’s ability also affects the act to conviction. Other than that, the factors that impacts the police practice, their priorities are also required to be considered in the process. It is also mentionable here that, the observer’s perceptions and attitudes towards criminal acts also requires consideration in the process (Pirie, 2013). Hence it can be stated that the crime along with the act of conviction is socially constructed. Another aspect of that impacts crime which can also be socially constructed is eyewitness testimonies. It is a part of police process. An individual when witnesses a particular event and conveys it back to the police it is eye witness testimony. However, the fact that it is reconstructive in nature makes it biased hence impacting the crime as well. The reason being if an eyewitness, on the basis of his/her knowledge or cultural value have the perception that an act of crime has not, which is contrary to the reality, it is going to impact and enhance the crime. Hence, it would not be wrong to state that on the basis of the above mentioned aspects it can be clearly noticed that crime is socially constructed. It also needs to be mentioned here that what is legal or illegal to an individual may vary from another individual on the basis of their social or cultural aspect as makes crime socially constructed.

In the field of Cognitive Psychology a theory of in-depth memory recall was proposed, which can be defined as reconstructive memory. In this detailed memory recall theory, various cognitive processes like imagination, semantic beliefs and memory, perception affects reconstructive memory (McLeod, 2009). The theory was formulated by Bartlett according to whom, in the understanding of eyewitness testimony’s reliability reconstructive memory plays a vital role. According to him, with aspects like the attained knowledge cultural values and norms, personal interpretation is dependent with which the aspect of recalling is associated. This theory further emphasize upon the fact that, the way information is presented is not stored by individuals in the exact manner. Individuals store the gist or inner meaning of the provided information. Hence it is stored by them in the way they can comprehend the provided information which is the core essence of cognitive psychology.

On the basis of the above made discussion it can be inferred that, the integration of psychology in the police department has evolved significantly, as a result of which it has got intermingled in an enhanced level (Thomas, 2011). Other than that, there are numbers of aspects that perception of legality or illegality from the cultural or social context that makes crime socially constructed. 

Davis, M. (2006). Australian Psychological Society : Criminal investigative analysis in the Australian context. [online] Psychology.org.au. Available at: https://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/context/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016].

Kitaeff, J. (2011). Handbook of police psychology. New York: Routledge.

McLeod, S. (2009). Eyewitness Testimony | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016].

Pirie, S. (2013). Crime is socially constructed. What does this mean and how does it differ from deviance? (University Essay). [online] Booksie.com. Available at: https://www.booksie.com/posting/stuart-pirie/crime-is-socially-constructed.-what-does-this-mean-and-how-does-it-differ-from-deviance-university-essay-265103 [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016].

Thomas, D. (2011). Police psychology. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.

What-when-how.com. (2015). Psychology and the Poilce [online] Available at: https://what-when-how.com/police-science/psychology-and-the-police/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016].