Recruitment of Police Candidates Through MMPI and CPI Personality Inventories: A Perspective Review for Albania

Abstract

Psychological assessment of police candidates represents a core area of police psychology. The main focus of psychological assessment is to identify those applicants who demonstrate specific traits or attributes that are suitable for the police officer profession. The study aims to provide insights from contemporary practices regarding the usefulness of personality tests in recruiting police candidates and their future application in Albania. The study focuses on examining two personality tests: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI).The study was based on a systematic literature review using the ScienceDirect, PsycNet and Google Scholar databases from the period 2000 to 2024. The literature was filtered by identifying and analyzing key terms such as "MMPI and police officer" or "CPI and police officer".

Based on the studies used and international practices, the application of psychological tests during the recruitment stages of applicants for police officers provides qualitative information on mental health and job suitability for the police organization and academic and research units. The application of psychological tests in the selection of candidates for police officers provides important data for police and academic structures regarding the psychological state and the prediction of work performance and professional integrity in the future. A significant part of the studies emphasizes that in addition to the use of psychological tests, it is useful to include additional data such as clinical interviews and information regarding educational and demographic characteristics. Based on the studies used and international practices, the use of personality tests in the recruitment process would be positive for the police organization, the Security Academy and research purposes.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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