Separated At Birth?. The Personalities Of Armed Police And Criminals.

Separated at Birth: The Personalities of Armed Police and Criminals Interim findings from a research study Richard Wisenheimer Crime Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC)

The present study An analysis of the day to day activities of armed police officers and certain criminals would suggest that there are considerable overlaps between the two groups. Stress, long hours, tension, life threatening situations, the use of coercion, the expectation of conflict, a code of silence, and the opportunity to work in large powerful gangs, solidify a deep seated similarity between two groups that are constantly thrown into contact with each other. Two sides of the same coin, united in an unbreakable bond. The present study, however, seeks to measure the psychological makeup of the two sides with the help of carefully selected representative samples, and offers some tentative suggestions regarding the recruitment of certain criminals for law enforcement duties. Method and initial findings The personality traits and work attitudes of 108 criminals convicted of assault (GBH or ABH) and 96 police officers authorised to carry weapons were compared using a range of personality measures including the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), a 30 item Work Values Inventory, and a multiple-choice sentence completion task. Personality traits On the ZKPQ, both groups scored significantly higher than the general population and various occupational groups on the following scales: Impulsive Sensation Seeking, Aggression-Hostility Work Activity They scored significantly lower on: Neuroticism-Anxiety Sociability. No significant differences were observed on the Infrequency (or Lie) scale. These findings closely match USA studies involving the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The results have implications in a practical and theoretical sense. The former, as the personality profiles found in this study could be used as a criteria in the selection process of future applicants; the latter, as it gives empirical evidence supporting Zuckerman!s alternative five factor model of personality.

Work values and attitudes The two profiles from the WVI were remarkably similar with both groups showing a need for clearly stated goals, the opportunity to plan one!s own work, and react swiftly to situations which involved high physical risk. Both groups, however, would wish to avoid close supervision and inflexible working practices, and demonstrated a low tolerance of boredom and interference. Although factor analysis of work values inventories have usually yielded dimensions which question Herzberg!s two factor theory of job satisfaction, this study offers much evidence to support it. Two underlying dimensions were clearly identified in both populations and were focused on internal or external motivators. The results indicated that both groups were more likely to be motivated by internal needs such as success, achievement, recognition etc, rather than external aspects such as job security, or company policies. These findings, coupled with the responses to the individual items on the WVI, emphasise just how closely the two populations matched.

Sentence completion Sentence completion tests typically provide respondents with beginnings of sentences, referred to as “stems,” and respondents then complete the sentences in ways that are meaningful to them. The responses are believed to provide indications of attitudes, beliefs, motivations, or other mental states. In the current investigation, however, the sentence completion task offered incomplete sentences with a limited choice of possible endings. eg The door was open so I entered the building in ..(anger, hope, confusion, fear, silence) Leaving home, I made sure that I took my..(mobile phone, credit card, dog, water, iPod) In adopting this approach, the focus was on the similarity of response rather than content, and the results suggest that this technique could make a useful contribution to the selection process. Both samples tended to select the same words and some of the selections were most revealing, eg risk, silence, darkness, dog, etc Interim conclusions With a brutal drug and gun crime culture flourishing in some of Britain!s most deprived communities, imaginative and robust solutions are required to combat gang crime. The results offer firm evidence to support the recruitment of certain offenders for active duties within the armed wing of the police service. To use a footballing metaphor, it would be like transferring to a team which, arguably, still enjoys rather more home support. In paying off their debt to society, many ex-offenders will respond positively to the demands of the job and should relate well to their new colleagues. Indeed, recent events suggest that some recruitment may have already taken place, albeit highlighting a need for enhanced training in anger management, self-restraint in the use of weapons in public places, and effective control of disorderly crowds. CRAC April 2009