Book Description

This book, written by a police psychiatrist, stresses the importance of selecting the best possible candidates for police work and the need for openly confronting personnel and recruitment problems. It is important to talk about inherent difficulties of police work, the lack of proper selection procedures and adequate supervision, and the lack of appropriate administrative procedures. A major problem is that police recruitment officials do not select the best possible individuals for police duty. Approximately 35 percent of all police officers are estimated to be psychologically unsuited for police work and should never have been hired. When weaknesses inevitably develop in police departments, officers encountering problems are often not assisted by department administrators. Interviewing entry-level candidates for police work is referred to as the psychotherapeutic interview, and this type of interviewing requires the use of psychiatrists in all phases of personnel selection and promotion and inservice counseling if it is to be successful. The first part of the book contains a chronological account of the author's work with members of a municipal police department and city council in California. The second part of the book deals with police officers and their families, departments, and profession and with the role of police in crime prevention. An appendix explores psychological dynamics and the rescue fantasy motivation aspect of police work. A bibliography, a reader's guide, and an index are included.