4 ms·

I'm not familiar with the US system, so I have to ask: are you saying that nowhere during his training a cop is evaluated by a psychiatrist before receiving his

by jiiam 10y ago

I'm not familiar with the US system, so I have to ask: are you saying that nowhere during his training a cop is evaluated by a psychiatrist before receiving his badge?

gnoway 10y ago
I don't know if it's universal, but it's at least extremely common for there to be a psych eval prior to receiving a badge. Not sure why the parent thinks otherwise.
- explorigin 10y ago
  The operative word there is _good_. Remember that we're talking about multiple systems that are run differently all across the country. Some systems are better than others. It's not a one-size fits all comparison.
pc86 10y ago
I've served on multiple commissions whose sole purpose was to interview police applicants (and serve on one currently). In every instance there was an in depth background check including interviews (former significant others, neighbors, teachers, etc), financial background check and credit reports, and a psychological evaluation. At many instances the candidate could be removed from the process. The flip side is that it's Civil Service, meaning everything is scored and at the end of the day the hireable pool of applicants is typically 2-5 vetted and certified applicants for a given position, so the official hiring body (typically the township supervisors or council) has very little decision-making power. In my state they're legally required to hire one of the top 3. If a veteran is #1, the hiring body must hire them unless they can find a disqualifying feature in the interview. These requirements vary a lot by state, this is just my anecdotal experience. Even in the smallest local police forces - the smallest I worked with was 8 officers, mostly part-time, in a borough of ~1,000 households - it would be unheard of not to get some sort of psychiatric or psychological opinion on the candidate.
messick 10y ago
Different departments have different standards. The LAPD has hired some pretty famously dangerous assholes in it's day, so they have become pretty picky. A dude from my high school, whose father was a SWAT lieutenant, tried to join but was denied. They had interviewed a bunch of his friends, and during the interview he was asked "why do you yell at your girlfriend so much?" A smaller department, lets say Bakersfield PD, might not be so picky.

by jiiam 10y ago

I'm not familiar with the US system, so I have to ask: are you saying that nowhere during his training a cop is evaluated by a psychiatrist before receiving his badge?

gnoway 10y ago

I don't know if it's universal, but it's at least extremely common for there to be a psych eval prior to receiving a badge. Not sure why the parent thinks otherwise.

explorigin 10y ago
The operative word there is _good_. Remember that we're talking about multiple systems that are run differently all across the country. Some systems are better than others. It's not a one-size fits all comparison.

pc86 10y ago

I've served on multiple commissions whose sole purpose was to interview police applicants (and serve on one currently). In every instance there was an in depth background check including interviews (former significant others, neighbors, teachers, etc), financial background check and credit reports, and a psychological evaluation. At many instances the candidate could be removed from the process. The flip side is that it's Civil Service, meaning everything is scored and at the end of the day the hireable pool of applicants is typically 2-5 vetted and certified applicants for a given position, so the official hiring body (typically the township supervisors or council) has very little decision-making power. In my state they're legally required to hire one of the top 3. If a veteran is #1, the hiring body must hire them unless they can find a disqualifying feature in the interview. These requirements vary a lot by state, this is just my anecdotal experience. Even in the smallest local police forces - the smallest I worked with was 8 officers, mostly part-time, in a borough of ~1,000 households - it would be unheard of not to get some sort of psychiatric or psychological opinion on the candidate.

messick 10y ago

Different departments have different standards. The LAPD has hired some pretty famously dangerous assholes in it's day, so they have become pretty picky. A dude from my high school, whose father was a SWAT lieutenant, tried to join but was denied. They had interviewed a bunch of his friends, and during the interview he was asked "why do you yell at your girlfriend so much?" A smaller department, lets say Bakersfield PD, might not be so picky.