The relationship between pre-employment psychological screening and officer misconduct
by Wysong, Daniel C., Sr., Ph.D., CAPELLA UNIVERSITY, 2012, 198 pages; 3498657

Abstract:

The study examined the correlation between the psychological screening of applicants for positions as a certified law enforcement officer with randomly selected South Carolina local law enforcement agencies or departments, and the number of incidents involving on-duty officer misconduct in the selected agencies/departments between 1990 and 2009. The correlational study examined the predictability of psychological screening. Accordingly, a lower incidence of on-duty misconduct when psychological screening is utilized demonstrates the effectiveness of the screening; whereas, a higher rate of on-duty misconduct when psychological screening is present represents lower predictability from the screening. Therefore, an absence of a correlation between psychological screening and the rate of incidents involving on-duty misconduct would support the postulation that socialization, or social learning, plays a significant role in officer on-duty behavior. Seventeen local law enforcement agencies reported as a part of the sample whether a psychological evaluative screening was used for employment, which was compared to the number of on-duty incidents of misconduct reported. There were 577 incidents or cases of misconduct reported. Based on the responses from the 17 local law enforcement agencies in the sample, there was a higher percentage of reported on-duty incidents of misconduct when no psychological evaluative screening was used for employment.

 
AdviserStephen W. Verrill
SchoolCAPELLA UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 73-07(E), p. , Mar 2012
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsOccupational psychology; Criminology; Organizational behavior
Publication Number3498657
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» Find an electronic copy at your library.
  Use the link below to access a full citation record of this graduate work:
  http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl%3furl_ver=Z39.88-2004%26res_dat=xri:pqdiss%26rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation%26rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3498657
  If your library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database, you may be entitled to a free electronic version of this graduate work. If not, you will have the option to purchase one, and access a 24 page preview for free (if available).

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.