Chapter 4: Forensic Psychology 🧠⚖️

Introduction

Excessive force 🚨✋ is when police use more force than needed. Example: a boy playing cricket 🏏 ignores a woman’s request 🚶‍♀️, police beat him too harshly 👮‍♂️💢. Psychologists check if force was excessive and suggest solutions 🧠✅.

Personality Types in Police Misconduct

Bartol (1982) found officers using excessive force, misconduct, accidents, deadly force, or resigning usually fall into two groups:

1. Antisocial Personality 😈

• 👀 Traits: narcissism, suspiciousness, cynicism, tough-mindedness 💪, insensitivity, defensiveness 🛡️, rigidity, irritability 😡, resentfulness 😤, sensation seeking 🎢, hyperactivity ⚡

2. Ineffectual Personality 😕

• ❓ Traits: indecisive, introverted 🤐, dependent 🤝, cautious ⚠️, oversensitive 😢, quiet, fail to impact street work

Corruption 💰

Corruption is not only police-specific; frequent police-public contact increases perception of corruption 👥. Forensic psychology fights corruption at:

1. Personnel Selection 👮‍♂️

• 📝 Psychologists use personality tests to screen officers
• ❌ Personality tests don’t perfectly predict honesty/corruption
• 📊 PERSEREC study found traits linked to 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 in youth predicts corruption, but not guaranteed

2. Training Level 🎓

• 💖 Programs teach empathy (understand others’ problems without reacting emotionally)
• 🗣️🤝 Improve customer service attitude: tact, diplomacy, willingness to change

3. Police Counseling & On-Duty Stress Management 🧘‍♂️

• 🏢 Free in-house counseling available
• 😔 Stress sources: compassion fatigue, marital problems 💔, alcoholism 🍺, suicide ⚠️, PTSD 😨, burnout 🔥, burst stress 💢
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Families affected too: unpredictability ⏰, shift work 🌙, fear 😰, isolation 🏚️, low pay 💸, high expectations for children 👶, marital issues 💔, public scrutiny 👀

Stress ⚡

Stress: mental/physical tension from physical, emotional, chemical causes 🧠💪

• ❤️ Effects: faster heart rate, high blood pressure 💓, muscle tension 💪, irritability 😡, depression 😔
• ✋ Police work requires restraint, which increases stress effects

Types of Police Stressors

Internal 🔧

• 🏫 Poor supervision, insufficient training, no promotions ⬆️, low rewards 🎁, annoying policies 📋, excessive paperwork 📝, bad equipment ⚙️, poor salary 💵, shift work ⏰

External 🌎

• 🚫 Lack of career growth, ineffective justice system ⚖️, biased media 📰, public remarks 👂, political interference 🏛️

Task-related 🛠️

• 🤹 Role conflict, 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 Milestones, Figures, and Researches