POLICE PERSONALITY TRAITS
Police misconduct is a significant issue over the last two years, with significant issues that have created attention all over the nation being publicized. For instance, the information about Tamir Rice, who was killed by Tim Loehmann, created significant attention the social media and news. Tamir was just 12 years old and was shot to death by the police officer after being unable to manage his stress (Ramsey). Deputy Chief, in his memo, said that Loehmann lacked maturity necessary in the employment. Besides, another officer was captured in Texas, brutally wrestling a girl who wore a Bikini. When two young men approached him, he pulled a gun and shot them.
In his interview, David J. Thomas reveals that police officers do not need mental health screening, but understanding their psychology is essential. For instance, he propagates on how he applies a sixteen-personality factor questionnaire in the screening process of upcoming police officers. Officers have a scale of one to ten of the traits and need to be in the middle. For example, in terms of warmth, if the police officer is at 10, it means they are too emotional, while if he is at one, it means they are not emotional at all; therefore, an average score of 5 or 6 is the best (Ramsey).
Since police officers are more stressed by a variety of factors, including whether their organizations support them when they enter into problems, I think it is crucial to train police officers on several traits to act as an assistant. Also, these traits would be essential for the upcoming officers. First is understanding racial diversity due to the existing bias between the white police and the African-American community. Some police officers also face a lot of fear if, at some point, they experienced a shooting. Training will help them control excessive fear. They also need to be trained to be interactive not only to their fellow cops but also with others to reduce boredom. This will help manage their personality traits, which are said to change when they join the forces. Testing for such qualities will also be essential for new officers.
Work Cited
Ramsey, Donovan X. “Inside the Mind of an Angry Cop.” GQ, www.gq.com/story/police-psychologist-qa-texas-pool-party