Chapter 4: Excessive Force, Corruption, and Police Stress
Use of excessive force is unacceptable; it occurs when force exceeds what is justifiable under circumstances. Example: a boy playing cricket ignored a woman's request, police beat him excessively. Psychologists identify whether force was excessive and suggest remedies. Bartol (1982) found officers involved in excessive force, misconduct, accidents, deadly force, or resignation usually fall into two groups: Antisocial Personality—narcissism, suspiciousness, cynicism, tough-mindedness, insensitivity, defensiveness, rigidity, irritability, resentfulness, sensation seeking, hyperactivity; Ineffectual Personality—indecisiveness, introversion, dependency, cautiousness, oversensitivity, quiet individuals who fail to impact on the street.
Police Corruption
Corruption is not unique to police; frequent police-society interaction increases perception of corruption. Forensic psychology can combat police corruption at personnel selection, training level, and counseling/on-duty stress management. Personnel selection: psychologists use personality tests for screening-in/out; personality tests are not good predictors of honesty/corrupt behavior. PERSEREC study: correlations between personality traits (MMPI-2, IPI, 16-PF, CPI) and employees forced to resign, fired, disciplined, or prosecuted. Traits correlated with corruption: MMPI-2—Lying .32, Hypochondriasis .31, Paranoia .34, Problematic Anger .39, Imperturbability .41; 16-PF—Tough Poise .23, Overly Shrewd .22, Overenthusiastic .28, Bold .28, Adjustment Problems .20; IPI—Trouble with Law .29, Antisocial Attitudes .24, Family Conflicts .32; CPI—Capacity for Status .20, Good Impression .28, Independence .22. American agency: immaturity, unreliability, irresponsibility at young age predict corrupt behavior, but not guaranteed.
Training and Counseling
Training level: psychological principles applied to design programs to improve desired traits—empathy (appreciation of others' problems without same emotional reaction) and customer service attitude (positive verbal/nonverbal communication, tact, diplomacy, willingness to change). Police counseling and on-duty stress management: police receive free in-house counseling; stress includes compassion fatigue, marital problems, alcoholism, suicide, PSTD, burnout, burst stress. Families also experience vicarious stress due to unpredictability, shift work, fear, isolation, low pay, higher standards for children, marital communication issues, and public scrutiny (NIJ 1991).
Police Stress
Stress: mental/physical tension from physical, emotional, chemical causes; affects health; characterized by increased heart rate, blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, depression. Police work demands restraint, increasing stress effects; attention on police suicide. Types of police stressors: Internal—poor supervision, insufficient training, no upward mobility, lack of extrinsic rewards, annoying policies, excessive paperwork, bad equipment, poor salary, shift work; External—lack of career development/lateral entry, ineffective criminal justice system, biased media, derogatory remarks, political interference; Task-related—role conflict/strain, rotating shifts, fear/danger, giving up cases, victim pain, employee review boards; Personal—marital/family issues, health problems, addictions, peer pressure, depression, harassment, lack of accomplishment.
Key Issues and Solutions
Excessive Force Personality types: Antisocial and Ineffectual; remedies via psychology
Corruption Combated through selection, training, counseling; personality traits linked
Training Improve empathy and service attitude
Stress Management Counseling for officers and families; types of stressors
Health Impacts Increased heart rate, depression; suicide attention
Summary of Important Points
Aspect
Description
Excessive Force
Unjustifiable force; linked to personality types
Corruption
Perception high; combated via selection and training
