Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the instruments used in the screening process, with particular attention given to supporting research validation. Psychological screening is a well-established process used in the selection of employees across public safety industries, particularly in police settings. Screening in and screening out are both possible, with screening out being the most commonly used method. Little attention, however, has been given to evaluating the comparative validities of the instruments used. Design/methodology/approach-This review investigates literature supporting the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the California Personality Inventory (CPI), the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI), the Australian Institute of Forensic Psychology's test battery (AIFP), and some other less researched tests. Research supporting the validity of each test is discussed. Findings-It was found that no test possesses unequivocal research support, although the CPI and AIFP tests show promise. Most formal research into the validity of the instruments lacks appropriate experimental structure and is therefore less powerful as "evidence" of the utility of the instrument(s). Practical implications-This research raises the notion that many current screening practices are likely to be adding minimal value to the selection process by way of using instruments that are not "cut out" for the job. This has implications for policy and practice at the recruitment stage of police employment. Originality/value-This research provides a critical overview of the instruments and their validity studies rather than examining the general process of psychological screening. As such, it is useful to those working in selection who are facing the choice of psychological instrument. Possibilities for future research are presented, and development opportunities for a best practice instrument are discussed.

Jonathan Lough is a psychologist and independent research consultant in Melbourne, Australia. He specialises in research design, analysis and statistics, survey writing, and psychological assessment. Over the last three years, he has worked with a range of private and government clients, including ANZ Bank, Clemenger BBDO, ABSTRACTThe performance of two groups of Tasmania police employees (all of whom were constables or probationary constables) was evaluated after their first year of training and on-the-job employment. Group membership was a function of initial selection process -one group undertook detailed psychological profiling as part of their preemployment testing, and the other group did not. The non-screened group was compared to the profiled (screened) group across a range of performance measures. Across seven out of eight measures, the screened group outperformed the non-screened group, with four of the differences statistically significant. The screened group also had a lower dropout rate. The simplest explanation of results suggests that a different quality of applicant is selected by the psychological profiling system, when compared to more traditional processes such as simple selection interviews. Implications for future selection of police personnel in Australia are also discussed.

Jonathan Lough is a psychologist and independent research consultant inMelbourne, Australia. He specialises in research design, analysis and statistics, survey writing and psychological assessment. Over the last ten years he has worked with a range of private and government clients, including ANZ Bank, Clemenger BBDO and the Australian Institute of Forensic Psychology. Prior to establishing Lough Research Services, he was a research psychologist at Monash University, working in the area of public safety and injury prevention. Michael Ryan has been the manager of psychology services in Tasmania Police for over 13 years. Based in Hobart, he is also the clinical consultant to the Tasmanian emergency services critical incident stress management programme. Prior to that, he worked with Queensland Health as a clinical psychologist and director of allied health services for 17 years. ABSTRACTThe current study expands upon the authors' previous work. The performance of two groups of Tasmania Police constables was evaluated after their first three years of employment. Group membership was a function of initial selection process -one group undertook detailed psychological profiling as part of their pre-employment testing, and the other group did not. The screened group consistently outperformed the non-screened group, with three of the differences statistically significant. Additionally, the screened group had a lower dropout rate, and were less likely to make serious on-the-job errors resulting in formal disciplinary action or investigation. Implications for applied practice, and further research and development are also discussed.

Jonathan Lough is a psychologist and independent research consultant (Director of LoughResearch Services) in Melbourne, Australia. He specialises in research design, analysis and statistics, survey writing, and psychological assessment. Over the last three years, he has worked with a range of private and government clients, including ANZ Bank, Clemenger BBDO, and the ABSTRACT The current study expands upon the work of Lough and Ryan (2005). The performance of two groups of Tasmania Police employees (all of whom were constables or probationary constables) was evaluated after their first two years of training and on-the-job employment. Group membership was a function of initial selection process -one group undertook detailed psychological profiling as part of their pre-employment testing, and the other group did not. The non-screened group was compared with the profiled (screened) group across a range of objective performance measures. The screened group consistently outperformed the nonscreened group, with four of the differences statistically significant. Additionally, the screened group had a lower drop-out rate, and were less likely to make serious on-the-job errors resulting in formal action or investigation. The results suggest that a different quality of applicant is selected by the psychological profiling system, when compared with more traditional processes such as simple selection interviews. Implications for further research and development are also discussed.