Is there a 'standard' pyscological test for prospective police.

[clydefrand]

Is there any attempt to weed out before even hiring, individuals that will not make an acceptable police
officer? I've read that many, if not most, persons applying for police department are those that appear to like
fighting, would love to have a gun on their belt, and the ability to arrest almost anyone they desire, even if that
person has NOT broken any law. The police will protect themselves long before protecting the average citizen.
It has been this way for decades, and will never change.

[doc03]

1. I grew up with a guy that was a county sheriff for 4 years, he was a racist

nut job that was looking to shoot someone and did and in my opinion shouldn't even be allowed to own a gun.

[arcane1]

2. Hell, the cop who killed that 12-year-old had been fired from another PD for being unstable

So apparently they don't even do the most basic of background checks.

[Cleita]

3. Depends on the city. There was once an attempt in Los Angeles to filter out

police candidates in the Los Angeles PD with psychological testing due to corruption in the forties and fifties. But budget cuts made that program very short lived with the evident results recorded in history. The fact is being law enforcement should be considered a well paid career position with college degrees required. I believe it's done in some of the Scandanavian countries, but to do that you would need a generous budget. Maybe a lot of the excess military spending for shit we don't need could be used to improve our police agencies here at home.

[hardluck]

4. Not sure if there is a standard

Only know from my experience when I applied to the LAPD back in 1998. At the time, I took a basic written test, then an oral interview that ranked you for hiring preference. After the oral interview there was a medical test, and a psychological test which consisted of answering about 1100 multiple choice questions (MMPI) and then being interviewed by a psychologist for about 30 minutes. After that a basic physical test and then the background (no polygraph at the time).

Took me two years to get into the academy but by that time I had already taken the LSAT and applied for law school so i quit the academy, went to law school and became an attorney instead.