The Role of the Police Psychologist

...

of the officers who are in charge of protecting the society against crimes and other adversaries (Aamodt, 2000).

When we try to define the basic role of the police psychologists it can be said that these police psychologists work in either of the following mentioned ways; the first would be to make provision of consulting and training services inside the department for the department officer and staff. Otherwise they also work as an outside consultant who also makes provision for consultation services to other departments on a contract basis. There are several pros and cons to the same but both of these have a certain merit and therefore are considered amongst the roles and responsibilities of police psychologists as also each department has its own size, number of staff, special requirements and issues that needs to be solved and thus other departments in the public safety division might need consultancy services from officers who do not belong to the specific department originally. The structure and arrangement of the police psychologists and their roles are not as relevant as their connection to the highest position of administrative and managerial structure. At times these police psychologists area also called upon to work closely with the Chief of Police for direct consultation purposes and communication in order to solve some urgent or pending issues which can only be solved with the knowledge and experience of the police psychologists (Normore, (n.d.)).

When it comes to the consideration of police psychologists it is very important to define the ethical standards which bind the police psychologist in their duties. There is a high degree of confidentiality agreement which must be adhered to especially when it comes to conducting psychotherapy, counselling, assessment, fitness-for-duty evaluation and research. However, the confidential clause is also flexible when related to the issue which can be complete, limited, restricted or even open and up-front. The same becomes extremely relevant when it comes to a police officer seeking help from a police psychologist or being referred for treatment or counselling sessions with in-house police psychologist. The same is generally made as officers are always referred to such counselling sessions by a supervisor or commanding officer. The confidentiality clause advocates for a non-restrictive disclosure or breach of confidentiality law which prohibits the police psychologist from sharing such critical information outside the room or even with the supervising officer which is also flexible according to the demands of the situation. Therefore it can be said in this case confidentiality is a big concern in the police department as if the information comes out in the open, the said police officer might suffer a loss of reputation or image as a direct consequence of the rumour of being referred or willing to opt for a counselling session with the police psychologist. Therefore the same is carried out extremely restricted manner and the need for confidentiality is advocated explicitly (Cooper, (n.d)).

It often happens that there is victimization, misuse and even abuse of police officers’ powers which becomes open and is never protected by the confidentiality clause. The only specific areas of the confidentiality clause is concerned about is the direct counselling and treatment of officers, their families and other civilian personnel job-related problems. When there is special communication between the policy psychologist, employee and a third party, the confidentiality clause is adhered to (Hall, 2011).

While determining the role of the police psychologists keeping the forensic investigation in mind, the police psychologist has an important role to play who act as objective scientist and as a consultant when an investigation is being carried out. The police psychologists are often called upon at the scene of a crime for their advice and consulting services. They are specially used in cases where the crime committed by an individual is a stranger to stranger basis where the crimes advocates no ulterior motive, are sexually sadistic in nature or if the motive cannot be determined very easily. Thus in such instances psychological assistance is required in order to determine the thought process of the offender and what may have pushed the individual to commit the crime and where the criminal could be hiding. These police psychologists then work in close proximity with the special investigative units for objectives and cases including homicides, sex crimes or at times of psychological criminal personality profiling which would further increase the research and knowledge base of the police department that would be helpful in solving other crimes in future. Even though specialized officers, detectives, coroners, medical examiners, criminalists, forensic scientists and evidence technicians are called upon for the same job, it is necessary to understand the psychology of the criminal to learn the motive of the crime and how the criminal can be caught when in the run. Thus it can be said that the police psychologists have a big role to play in police department and amongst the many responsibilities, forensic investigation is one the major roles that the police psychologists are often involved in.

Conclusion

As concluding remarks for the role of police psychologists, it can be said that these individuals have a critical role in the public safety and police department. The significance is huge when it comes to determining the fitness of police officers on duty and whether they are in perfect physical or mental shape required to carry out the duties on field. It is also important to train the incoming officers and even experience officers on certain roles which have not been practiced by the said officers and these training routines are carried out by the police psychologists.

The police psychologists have a large role to play when it comes to keeping the police officers in good shape as well when it comes to their professional and personal lives as well. It is a known fact that the police officers have a critical job with a constant threat of life which they face at all times and therefore goes through a lot of trauma while on the job and it is the duty of the police psychologist to hold counselling sessions with these police officers in order to make sure that they are comfortable in their respective jobs.

Finally, the police psychologists have a major role to play in forensic investigations and crime scenes where it is extremely important to understand the psychology of the offender, the motive and the hideouts that the offender may have after committing the crime. Even though there are other specialized