Correctional and Police Psychology
Police and correctional roles
Police psychology includes pre-employment screening, fitness-for-duty evaluations, crisis negotiation, and operational support. Correctional psychology addresses mental health care, suicide risk, segregation, and reentry. The exam tests role clarity, risk screening, and organizational context.
Core rules
- Pre-employment evaluations use job analysis, psychological testing, interviews, and background data; they are not therapy.
- Fitness-for-duty evaluations answer whether an officer can perform essential functions safely; confidentiality is limited and the agency is usually the client.
- Screen for suicide risk at intake and during segregation; use structured screening and reassess when conditions change.
- Distinguish malingering from genuine crisis in correctional settings.
- Maintain boundaries and document risk-management decisions.
Worked example
An officer involved in a shooting is referred for fitness-for-duty. The psychologist should evaluate current functioning, trauma symptoms, and safety, not establish a therapeutic relationship. Reasoning: the agency needs a role-appropriate opinion; therapy would create a dual role.
Traps
Providing therapy in a fitness-for-duty evaluation; promising confidentiality; using clinical tests alone; ignoring job demands; failing to reassess suicide risk after segregation.