Police and Public Safety Psychology

Police and public safety psychology is concerned with assisting law enforcement and other public safety personnel and agencies in carrying out their missions and societal functions with effectiveness, safety, health, and conformity to laws and ethics.

It consists of the application of the science and profession of psychology in four primary domains of practice:

• Assessment.
• Clinical intervention.
• Operational support.
• Organizational consultation.

Police and public safety psychology requires, at a minimum, distinctive knowledge of the essential functions of police and public safety organizations and personnel, working conditions unique to their respective positions, common and unusual stressors in public safety work, normal and abnormal adaptation to occupational stress and trauma, research related to resilience and recovery in public safety personnel, and the unique aspects of confidentiality and testimonial privilege when providing services to public safety personnel and/or agencies.

The common problem areas addressed through graduate courses, structured pre/postdoctoral placements, CE courses, and/or supervised employment include:

• Issues related to assessment (e.g., preeployment and fitness-for-duty evaluations).
• Clinical interventions (e.g., critical incident debriefing and counseling).
• Operational support (e.g., hostage negotiation and criminal investigation support).
• Organizational consultation (e.g., management consultation, training, organizational development).

The primary populations served by police and public safety psychologists are law enforcement and public safety agencies, as well as police and public safety personnel and their families.

The skills and procedures required of police and public safety psychologists are specific to the domain of practice.