Academic Dean at Monroe College, St. Lucia, Dr. William McDonald, says the time has come to add a new dimension – psychological testing – for new recruits in law enforcement. He has expressed this view as the Royal St. Lucia Police Force and Bordelais Correctional Facility are both advertising for additional recruits.

He states: “Great public trust is placed in law enforcement officers and it is absolutely vital that candidates for these positions need to be carefully screened for any evidence of emotional instability, poor judgment, lack of dependability, or other problems which might negatively affect their law enforcement work. It will also screen individuals for positive behaviours associated with successful ”

According to Dr. McDonald, psychological testing is a tool that will generally assist the RSLPF in professionalizing its service to the public and enhance the selection process. He adds: “A decision to use psychological testing will save the criminal justice system in St. Lucia costly errors at the front-end of the hiring process rather that discover later on that some individuals should not have been hired in the first place.” He believes, too, that the image of law enforcement will be greatly improved in the eyes of the public using this more scientific method of selection.

Dr. McDonald, a career police officer, is the founder of the Criminal Justice Department of Monroe College, and was a former member of the graduate faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York. He is also a research referee for the National Institute of Justice, and author of numerous works on comparative criminal justice issues and modernization of police services in developing countries.

Dr. McDonald says that as the RSLPF continues effort to modernize its operations it cannot but use such testing as part of its plans. “Of course, psychological testing is just one of the tools that has to be considered and should never be the only criteria. It must be used in conjunction with: a more rigorous background checks, written exams, practical exercises and personal interviews, with community interviewer/representatives as well as other law enforcement professionals.”

In addition to the psychological testing, Dr. McDonald, says successfully complete a polygraph examination, and not having any history of domestic violence or substance abuse should be included in the recruitment criteria. He said police forces in the region will sooner or later use psychological testing, but doo so soon will be an advantage for the RSLPF.

He says that psychological testing is a used by most modern police force in the USA, UK and Canada, for example.

Psychological testing encompasses a number of social and emotional competencies that are not easily detected in the other methods of the present selection process of law enforcement officers, such as: ADAPTABILITY/FLEXIBILITY, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS/DEPENDABILITY, IMPULSE CONTROL/ATTENTION TO SAFETY, INTEGRITY/ETHICS, EMOTIONAL STRESS TOLERANCE, DECISION-MAKING/JUDGMENT, ASSERTIVENESS/PERSUASIVENESS, AVOIDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND OTHER RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR.

Dr. McDonald holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master of Science Degree in Public Safety Administration, and both a Masters of Philosophy and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Criminal Justice from the City University of New York, where he was a Neiderhoffer Fellow. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Senior Command Course at Bramshill, the Police College of England and Wales, where he also served as a visiting professor. He has held academic positions and served as a lecturer at many American institutions, including the University of Delaware, Excelsior College, the State University of New York, Allegany College, and Tunxis College.

Story by Jerry George

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