| Pre-employment
Psychological Evaluation Services Guidelines
Ratified
by the IACP Police Psychological Services Section
Los Angeles, California, 2004
Overview
The following statements are guidelines for professional
practice in the area of pre-employment
psychological evaluations of candidates for public
safety positions. These positions include but
are not limited to positions where incumbents
have arrest authority or the legal authority to
detain and confine individuals. These guidelines
are presented as a recommended professional policy
for public safety agencies and individuals who
are charged with the responsibility of conducting
defensible preemployment psychological screening
programs. Psychologists must adhere to ethical
principles and standards for practice, including
the standards of the American Psychological Association.
Development
- Pre-employment psychological assessments
should be used as one component of the overall
selection process.
- Before conducting their own clinical assessments
of candidates, practitioners should be familiar
with the research literature available on psychological
testing for public safety positions, as well
as the state and federal laws relevant to this
area of practice, including the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Except as allowed or permitted by law, only
licensed or certified psychologists trained
and experienced in psychological test interpretation
and law enforcement psychological assessment
techniques should conduct psychological screening
for public safety agencies.
- Data on attributes considered most important
for effective performance in a particular position
should be obtained from job analysis, interview,
surveys, or other appropriate sources.
- Efforts should be made to provide agency
administrators with information regarding the
benefits and limitations of psychological assessment
procedures so that realistic goals may be set.
- Provisions should be made for the security
of all testing materials (e.g., test booklets).
Provisions should also be made for the security
of, access to, and retention of the psychological
report and raw data.
Testing
- A test battery including objective, job-related,
validated psychological instruments should be
administered to the applicant. It is preferable
that test results be available to the evaluator
before screening interviews are conducted.
- Written tests selected should be validated
for use with public safety candidates.
- If mail-order, Internet-based, or computerized
tests are employed, the licensed or certified
psychologist conducting the follow-up interview
should verify and interpret individual results.
- The pre-employment psychological evaluation
must be conducted in accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A psychological
evaluation is considered "medical"
if it provides evidence that could lead to identifying
a mental or emotional disorder or impairment
as listed in the DSM-IV, and therefore must
only be conducted after the applicant has been
tendered a conditional offer of employment.
Personality tests and other methods of inquiry
that are not medical by the above definition
and that do not include specific prohibited
topics or inquiries may be conducted at the
pre-offer stage. However, these assessments
are alone not capable of determining a candidate’s
emotional stability and therefore would not
constitute an adequate pre-employment psychological
evaluation.
Interview
- Individual, face-to-face interviews with
candidates should be conducted before a final
psychological report is submitted.
- A semi-structured, job-related interview
format should be employed with all candidates.
- Interviews should be scheduled to allow for
sufficient time to cover appropriate background
and test results verification.
Evaluation
- Public safety agency administrators directly
involved in making employment decisions should
be provided with written reports. These reports
should evaluate the suitability of the candidate
for the position based upon an analysis of all
psychological material including test data and
interview results. Reports to the agency should
contain a rating and/or recommendation for employment
based upon the results of the screening, justification
for the recommendation and/or rating, and any
reservations that the psychologist might have
regarding the validity or reliability of the
results.
- While a clinical assessment of overall psychological
suitability and stability may be made,
clinical diagnoses or psychiatric labeling of
candidates should be avoided when the goal of
the assessment is to identify candidates whose
psychological traits may adversely affect specific
job performance. In all cases, the screening
should be focused on an individual candidate's
ability to perform the essential functions of
the position under consideration.
- Specific cut-off scores should be avoided,
unless there is clear statistical evidence that
such scores are valid and have been cross-validated
in research studies by the test developer or
in the agency where they will be used. If cut-off
scores are used, the report should acknowledge
their use and the basis for using the specific
cut-off level. Conclusions concerning a candidate's
qualifications should be based on consistencies
across data sources rather than on a single
source.
- Clear disclaimers should be made so that
reports evaluating current emotional and behavioral
traits or suitability for a public safety position
will not be deemed valid after a specific period
of time.
Follow-Up
- Care should be taken when using pre-employment
test results for purposes other than making
pre-employment decisions and for monitoring
the candidate during the probationary period.
Follow-up research may be conducted with agency
approval and where individual identities are
protected. Pre-employment reports should not
be used for positions not expressly considered
by the psychologist at the time of the evaluation.
- Continuing collaborative efforts by the hiring
agency and evaluating psychologist should be
made to validate final suitability ratings using
behavioral criteria measures.
- Each agency should maintain adverse impact
analyses in order to detect any discriminatory
patterns of the psychological screening program.
- Psychologists should be prepared to defend
their procedures, conclusions, and commendations
if a decision based, even in part, on psychological
results is challenged.
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