Police Cadet Applicants Should Undergo Psychological Testing For Fitness To Be A Police Officer.

[TheMastersNemesis]

The police are generally too out of control. Too many departments are having problems with brutality and inappropriate response during calls. It is time to make psychological testing a part of the application process. And there should be police commissions with proper representation of civilian members.

There are too many Ferguson type police departments in the country. It seems like there is are too many questionable shootings. And "shoot" to kill policies need to be revised and there should be less lethal means used during confrontations.

[ManiacJoe]

1. They already do.

The problem is the people giving the test and judging the results.

[Boreal]

2. Police ARE civilians

And their shootings of people AND dogs are not just questionable, they are cold blooded MURDER. Law enforcement in this country is a criminal cult and we have MANY killers who are roaming our streets who are immune from prosecution. Oh sure, once in a while one gets prosecuted but it's an insignificant number. The whole system protects these fuckers. Corrupt departments, corrupt prosecutors and corrupt judges.

I know what you mean when you say there should commissions with civilians but I think what you mean is non police oversight. IOW, public. I'm making this distinction because the militarization of police has brainwashed cops and the public into thinking police are not civilian. Law enforcement is civilian. Not civilian means military. These yahoos THINK they're military when Homeland Security gets done with them. They get federal government training (no LE should EVER get federal training) in "anti terrorism" and drug interdiction and then the departments get the military equipment and suddenly these assholes all think they're Marines and we are the enemy on some battlefield.

As for your suggestion they should be psychologically profiled, YOU BET! They should also be better educated. The thing is, I think they already are psychologically profiled and that departments are selecting for the worst authoritarian bully psychos. It wouldn't surprise me if they're selecting for actual sociopaths.

I think we should get rid of cops, period. Keep sheriff departments because sheriffs are elected and somewhat accountable. Police chiefs and other high positions are not elected, they are appointed. There's a huge difference between police and sheriffs. Get rid of cops and only have sheriff deputies and all detectives should be part of the sheriff department. No more SWAT teams, either.

[rock]

4. As bleak as the picture is that you paint

I believe you are essentially correct. Policeman is a very attractive 'profession' for a bully, and a bully is just a step away from 'thug' (the gun I think does the trick).

[stevenleser]

7. Jury Results: 4-3 to keep

On Tue Sep 2, 2014, 08:54 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

Police ARE civilians
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5476971

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is over the top. The poster writes: "their shootings of people AND dogs are not just questionable, they are cold blooded MURDER." -- while there are cases of police murder, there are far more cases of police dealing with armed violent criminals who are creating imminent threats to the public. To insinuate that ALL killing by police is murder is simply over the top, hurtful to our hundreds of DU police officers, and a violation of the rules.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Sep 2, 2014, 09:13 AM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: There is nothing wrong with this post
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Was this person at the Bundy ranch?
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: There are DU members who are police officers. This is a broad brush insult to them. Obviously a poster with a personal grudge.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: 6-8 years ago I would have agreed that it was over the top alerter. Today, I can't say it is. Every week we read about another one of these. Something is seriously wrong.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

8. Nothing assuages concerns of overbearing authoritarianism quite like trying to quash dissent. nt

[csziggy]

3. What is needed are citizen review boards

Screening candidates for police officers would not be effective. See the Sanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Experiment for why.

http://www.prisonexp.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201307/the-rarely-told-true-story-zimbardo-s-prison-experiment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/28/209559002/taking-a-closer-look-at-milgrams-shocking-obedience-study

It seems that it does not matter who is put in charge - it the position of power that corrupts the people. A review board taken from outside the power structure is the best way to keep control.

[Hemmingway]

5. As others have pointed out, they already do.

[MineralMan]

6. Psychological tests are already part of most police

recruiting and hiring. The problem is that such tests are fairly easy to manipulate. Most rely on honesty on the part of the test-taker, and that's in rare supply in most cases. It's easy enough to figure out what police departments are looking for, so test-takers with any intelligence give them that and nothing more.

Some people who are too stupid to manipulate the answers on the tests are screened out, I'm sure, but not all. And then, there is the peer education after a cop finishes the police academy or other initial training. Peers are more important than supervisors in shaping a rookie cop, I'm sure.

Anyhow, here's a link to a facebook page for a company that has training programs for wannabe cops for taking those psych evaluation tests. There are other resources as well:

https://www.facebook.com/LawEnforcementPEPtalk

Company website: http://www.lawenforcementpeptalk.com/Law_Enforcement_PEPtalk/Law_Enforcement_PEPtalk.html