NCJ Number
136898
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1992) Pages: 125-135
Date Published
1992
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A study tested the potential ethnic bias in socioeconomic data on psychology tests used for police recruits.
Abstract
Selected items from the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) test were administered to 33 college students in a midwestern Junior College to determine their potential impact on police selection. The participants reflected diverse ethnic groups from lower to middle class socio-economic levels. Information concerning the personality characteristics and behavior patterns was obtained from 18 items on 5 IPI scales: Trouble with the law; job adjustment difficulties; depression; family conflict; and substance abuse. The results show that the economic status of the applicant can affect the score of minority applicants on the IPI test. A comparison of the test scores of the subjects in the study and the overall success rate of African American candidates for the Chicago Police Department indicates that items 92, 126, and 255 negatively impact on the employment opportunity of African Americans as police officers. In particular, these IPI items do not measure actual behavior, but rather reflect the income and employment history and status of the test participants. They do not identify the pathological or socially deviant attitudes which would place the test participant at moderate or high risk for police duty. 3 tables and 63 references (Author abstract modified)