Since long, it has been a standard for large-city police departments to require that potential officers undergo psychological evaluations before they are issued badges or guns. Documents obtained by NBC News show that psychological assessments are not required for the thousands of FBI agents and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents. They can police American streets without the need for psychological assessments.
This means that the federal agency charged with forcing local police departments into reform, such as telling New Orleans and Baltimore to require applicants to undergo psychological evaluations, doesn’t follow its own directives.
Ex-law enforcement officials from federal and local jurisdictions say discrepancies in hiring standards are a source of tension between the Justice Department and police chiefs.
Jason Wojdylo (recently retired chief inspector for the U.S.), said that “I think the average American thinks federal agents are the best of the crop. They think DOJ sets standards but we don’t even polygraph nor psych evaluate all applicants.” Marshals Service is now vice president of the Federal Managers Association. This employees association advocates for federal supervisors and law enforcement officers.
Wojdylo used the public records law to find federal pre-employment screening practices. He also discovered a disparity in federal psychological testing requirements between local police officers and federal counterparts. The records were shared with NBC News.
He also observed a lack in consistency among the Justice Department regarding what its four major law enforcement agency require of employees. According to Justice Department documents, only the Drug Enforcement Administration requires that applicants undergo psychological assessments and polygraph examinations. U.S. The Marshals Service, which hunts down fugitives and is part of the U.S. Federal prison guards don’t have the requirement to take either test. ATF and the FBI only require polygraphs.
The Federal Managers Association has urged Lisa Monaco, Deputy Attorney General, to establish a uniform screening process for all law enforcement agencies that the Justice Department oversees.
When asked why one standard psychological test isn’t being used in federal law enforcement agencies, a Justice Department spokesperson stated that all applicants are subject to standardized background checks.
Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence, spoke out about all federal law enforcement agencies. He is a contributor at NBC News and said that “We instill our agents and officers the immense responsibility they have. The fact that many are engaged in national security work ought to merit the use psychological assessment tools.”
Federal law enforcement officials, both current and former, rely heavily upon background checks to identify applicants with psychological problems. These checks can take several months and often require investigators to fly around the country or to foreign countries to interview potential agents’ past neighbors, classmates, and work colleagues. Prospective employees are required to disclose their financial and medical records, as well as whether or not they are currently on psychiatric medication.
April Langwell, ATF spokesperson, stated that agents must undergo a panel interview and polygraph exam. They also have to pass a drug test and go through background checks before being accepted.
A spokesperson for the DEA pointed out that applicants must complete both a psychological assessment and a polygraph exam as part of their application process.
Multiple requests for comment were not immediately answered by the FBI and Marshals Service.
Federal data does not show that the absence of testing affects federal law enforcement agents’ behavior. The FBI, ATF and DEA release data on police-involved shootings, use-of-force incidents and other relevant information, but not major police departments. Federal agencies don’t disclose routinely whether agents were disciplined or fired because of abusive behavior.
According to Justice Department data, more than 90% of local law enforcement agencies require applicants to undergo a psychological assessment. About 45 percent of potential employees are required to take polygraph tests. Experts agree that although psychological screenings are common in police work, their thoroughness is not.
Sometimes, smaller departments may conduct tests online without meeting with psychologists. This is something big-city police chiefs avoid. The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the largest international organization of department heads. It published a Best Practices Playbook for Hiring Police in 2020. It detailed the use of psychological assessments in person.
Louisville, Kentucky Metro Police Chief Erika Shields is a vocal critic for federal law enforcement tactics. She pulled her officers from federal task forces in 2019 when she was running the Atlanta Police Department. This was due to issues with transparency, oversight, and accountability. Shields called federal law enforcement’s lack of psychological testing “alarming.”
Shields noted that both the Atlanta and Louisville police departments conduct psychological testing on applicants. They also do extensive background investigations, which can include financial reviews, interviews with former neighbors, and trips to interview colleagues.
Shields stated, “To put in perspective how valuable this feedback from psychologists at Louisville and APD is, if a psychologist said, ‘I don’t recommend,’ that was an automatic disqualifier.” They’ll be able identify problematic behaviors down the line. This is why you are bypassing federal agencies that work on the front lines. It is hard to understand why.
Experts in law enforcement claim that the Justice Department’s standards for hiring agents are a “double-standard” for reform. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division forced many police departments to alter their policies through court-ordered reform plans. Louisville police are under federal review.
An NBC News analysis of consent decrees (reform plans), found that the Justice Department instructed police in New Orleans, Baltimore, and Cleveland to conduct psychological screenings on their applicants.
Louis Dekmar, the Georgia Police Chief, stated that it was ironic that agencies under the Justice Department, which oversees police reform, don’t have a standard procedure for pre-employment psychological assessments.
Dekmar stated that “the standards are in many cases significantly higher at the local and county levels than in some federal laws enforcement agencies.”
Matthew Guller is a veteran police psychologist who is also the managing partner of the Institute for Forensic Psychology. This firm provides psychological assessments for approximately 600 police departments across New York and New Jersey. Guller walked NBC News through his lengthy examination.
Potential police recruits meet him or one of his colleagues for a “battery” of tests, which often includes the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (or a similar written assessment). The applicants then return to Guller or a colleague for sit-down interviews. Guller asks questions about specific responses and inquires about background investigations.
Guller will ask the police to investigate the background of potential employees if they are concerned by the responses. Guller stated that background investigators, such as those federal agencies rely upon, don’t have the training necessary to spot patterns in risk-taking behavior, impulsivity, or emotional stress tolerance. He also stressed that federal law enforcement should not rely solely on background checks and polygraphs from people who aren’t psychologists.
