Confidentiality and the Legal Issues Raised By the Psychological Evaluations of Law Enforcement Officers (From Psychological Services for Law Enforcement, P 97-102, 1986, J Reese and H A Goldstein, eds. - See NCJ-104098)

• NCJ Number: 104104
• Author(s): B A Weiner
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/NCJRS; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-104098.

Annotation

The legal right to privileged communications and the professional ethic of confidentiality applies in a therapeutic relationship and not in a psychological evaluation, but a psychological evaluation of a police candidate or a police officer must comply with the rights of the person being assessed.

Abstract

Regarding the evaluation of an applicant, the applicant's rights require that the evaluation not be discriminatory and that it assess the candidate on job-related psychological characteristics. The evaluation of an officer's psychological state, however, may be governed by provisions of the collective bargaining agreement or agency due process procedures. An evaluator must be aware of the rights of the officer being evaluated and how the evaluation may affect the officer's future. The evaluator should have a precise understanding of the purpose of the evaluation from the agency's perspective and ensure that the evaluation accurately achieves the intended purpose. Ethical concerns in the evaluation include the use of report language that will be clear to those who read it, protection for the confidentiality of information sources when so requested by those sources, and the construction of a report that clearly documents reasons for the recommendations offered. 21 footnotes.