International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 4 Number 4

Book review Psychology and Policing

by Peter B. Ainsworth
(Willan Publishing, Cullompton; 2002; ISBN 1 903240 44 1; pb 16.99; ISBN 1 903240 45 X; hb 40.00)

International Journal of Police Science and Management, Vol. 4 No. 4, 2002, pp. 368371. Vathek Publishing, 14613557

In the introduction to this book, the author describes how psychology and policing may not seem very obvious bedfellows, and when they are united, for example, in popular media, the result, in most cases, will be one of dramatic interpretation rather than fact. Therefore the introduction to the book spends some time dispelling myths and reminding the reader not to judge either the police or psychologists on the basis of either media portrayals or limited exposure. However, in addition to misplaced lay perceptions, both these groups may also have biased perceptions about each other. Ainsworth points out that the police may be reticent to enlist outside help, therefore psychology has to prove it can make a valuable contribution. In its simplest terms as the study of behaviour, Ainsworth says that psychology has much to contribute in many occupations and it can be argued that the occupation of police ofcer will certainly provide opportunities to deal with the behaviour associated with a huge range of human interactions. Psychologys contribution in this area is undoubtedly becoming more accepted by the police. For example, documents that now govern police practice, such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Home Ofce Investigative Interviewing Package, have been produced as a result of a combination of psychologist, police and legal minds. Thus, it is timely that more

literature should address psychology in connection to policing. Ainsworth emphasises the multi-faceted nature of both professions. Certainly the theme of the multi-faceted nature of psychology is relevant to highlight in relation to its contribution to policing, as illustrated by the range of areas covered in the book. Many aspects of applied psychology are drawn upon, such as organisational and social psychology as well as forensic psychology, emphasising the breadth of areas of knowledge relevant to policing. The book consists of ten very manageable chapters. The rst two chapters set the psychological scene in a way by dealing with person perception, interpersonal skills, attribution, prejudice and stereotyping. The topics within these chapters are discussed taking into account psychological research as well as why they are appropriate to consider in a policing context. For example, the topics of gestures and interpersonal space are discussed in relation to suspect interviews. The topic of attribution is explained in a clear, uncomplicated way and the importance of this topic in relation to the police should certainly be emphasised. Attribution errors may be particularly dangerous for police ofcers, with their physical safety or the publics perception of them being at stake. Ainsworth discusses the importance of internal versus external attributions, covariation and attributional biases,

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such as the fundamental attribution error, the actorobserver bias and the self-serving bias. Explanations of these effects are always given alongside a good applied example. The second part of chapter 2 deals with prejudice and stereotyping, areas that the author feels should be incorporated in police training programmes, and the contributions of social comparison theory and social identity theory to this area are explained. Moving from the more social psychological contribution to policing, chapter 3 is concerned with occupational literature and addresses recruitment, selection and training. In common with many other types of organisations, the police have gradually adopted a more structured approach to selection, however, as Ainsworth points out, it would be naive to assume that this was simply due to becoming enlightened by psychology. Issues of fairness in light of an increasing litigious society, as well as investment through training costs, weigh heavily in selection procedure decisions, although the author comments that currently the Home Ofce is trying to introduce national recruitment standards for UK police ofcers. This is an interesting chapter that raises several of the challenges in this area. For example, in some cases the qualities that have been identied as being desirable for police ofcers, such as integrity and sense of humour, can be very difcult actually to measure. In addition, recruitment often does not sufciently address the skills required for different roles within the police, and whether there are core skills or qualities as opposed to ones that can be trained. The chapter also deals with problems of psychological tests. Ainsworth comments on the crucial link between selection and training and posits that in the eld of police training, psychology has not as yet been allowed to make the full contribution that it has the potential to make. He suggests that in order for this situation to

change, both police organisations attitudes to psychology as well as psychologists approach to training will have to change. Chapter 8 also deals with occupational aspects of policing and discusses the stresses associated with police work, both operational and organisational. This is an area that is still problematic within the police with the canteen culture at times making it hard for ofcers to admit that they are suffering from stress and to seek help. With posttraumatic stress disorder a potential result of exposure to a particularly stressful event, knowledge about the stress related to different types of police work, the availability of critical incident debrieng and condential stress counselling is very important for police ofcers. One particularly stressful duty for police ofcers can be dealing with violent individuals and this is the focus of chapter 4. After discussing some of the theories of aggression, this topic is dealt with from the perspective of violence against the police and violence by the police. Police attitudes to violence are also covered, in particular in relation to domestic assault. Statistics show an increase in this type of crime, with research in this area also growing, and the importance of training and good policing practice are emphasised. In relation to violence by police ofcers, Ainsworth highlights the potential difculties with how excessive force is dened. Although the chapter cannot comprehensively cover factors associated with aggression, and omits the inuence of alcohol and drugs, it does raise important issues in this area. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 link very well together, with the overall theme being police interviews. Chapter 5 addresses stages in the memory process dealing with perception and memory, rstly dispelling the video-tape analogy of perception and then going on to outline its constructive nature, perceptual biases and the importance of context. Moving on to the storage

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and retrieval stages of memory, discussion of how memory can be distorted by misinformation and misleading questions leads on to chapter 6s discussion of interview techniques used to elicit more accurate and complete eyewitness information. This area provides an example of one of the most successful linkages of psychology and policing in terms of the Cognitive Interview. Ainsworth discusses this interview technique but points out that, despite its research success, its adoption and correct implementation by the police have been less successful. The impact of interviewing, the value of interview training, and how and when to use it appropriately in practice are issues that still represent challenges for psychology and policing. As well as changes in the police approach to witness interviews, psychology has also had an impact on the conduct of suspect interviews and Chapter 7 discusses how psychology can contribute to how the police ofcer prepares for and conducts this type of interview. Ainsworth refers back to chapter 2 and the role attributions can play in the interview process. A growing area of research in this area has been the detection of deception and Ainsworth comments on the discrepancies between beliefs about lying behaviour and research ndings, reporting on recent research that adopts more indirect measures of deception. Types of false confessions, which have also received much research attention from psychologists, are also covered. One of the more controversial areas in which psychologists help the police is that of offender proling. Ainsworth devotes chapter 9 to discussion of this along with crime trends and patterns. There is also a section on repeat victimisation, which has become a valuable research area, and psychologists work in this area has helped the police with deployment of resources

and a more targeted approach to policing. In relation to proling, Ainsworth briey reviews two approaches, however, while this area can be a valuable tool in an investigation, it remains one in which psychologists need to reconcile some difculties themselves before they are in a position to persuade the police of the value of their contribution. An area in which psychology has much to contribute from a number of its subdisciplines is hostage taking and negotiation and this is the focus of chapter 10. With communication and teamwork essential parts of this process, the psychologist can make a contribution both in relation to various roles in the negotiating team and the choice of suitable negotiators. Knowledge from areas of occupational psychology can also be helpful in this, as well as principles from social psychology, such as footin-the-door when trying to persuade the hostage-taker to take a certain course of action. This seems to be an area where psychological tactics have achieved a good success rate, though Ainsworth points out that information gained from more eld study of this area would be very useful. In addition, despite psychologys successful role in hostage scenarios, psychologists still have work to do to be accepted. In conclusion, the number of areas of policing to which psychology can make a valuable contribution continues to increase, but Ainsworth notes that, as yet, this has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the inclusion of psychology in police training. Psychologists still have a challenge to overcome negative perceptions and to realise the full potential of psychologys contribution to policing. Psychology and Policing deals with a number of important areas in which psychology can benet policing. Each area is substantial in its own right, but Ainsworth highlights a number of

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key points within these areas in a very readable style. As well as balancing theory with applied examples, Ainsworth links issues that appear in one chapter to relevant points made in other chapters so, while the chapters can often jump from one area to another, relevant linkages are made. Finally, while not heavily packed with references,

each chapter ends very helpfully with suggestions for further reading. Therefore, overall, the book provides a good overview, as well as a good starting point, for those interested in this area. Dr Pam Newlands Psychology Department Glasgow Caledonian University

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