The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) has completed a detailed report this year aiming to encompass elements related to the assessment and critical analysis of the need for psychometric evaluation in police recruitment. The report has strongly advocated for the implementation of psychometric evaluation in police forces, stating it is the need of the hour.
The report has been prepared by three ADG rank officers from BSF, Uttrakhand police and CISF, along with high-ranking experts from Delhi University, ITBP, and SSB.
The report emphasises the significance of psychometric evaluation in addressing mental health issues faced by police personnel. However, it also acknowledges that while psychometric evaluation at the recruitment stage is crucial, it cannot be the sole method of reducing the prevalence of mental stress within these organisations.
In conclusion, the report emphasises, “Experts unanimously suggest that Psychometric Evaluation in Police Forces is the need of the hour. Consequently, psychological problems/disorders can be tackled, and intervention programs can be designed and implemented for the primary stakeholders.”
Furthermore, the report highlights that a significant number of police personnel suffer from various psychiatric illnesses. Therefore, timely interventions are crucial to control the mental health consequences of trauma. The report stresses the importance of developing methods for diagnosing and treating psychiatric cases effectively. It also underscores the necessity of providing better and more accessible mental health services to police personnel, based on recent studies indicating the prevalence of mental health problems among them.
“While psychometric evaluation at the recruitment stage is undoubtedly crucial in addressing mental health issues among police personnel, it cannot be the sole method of reducing the prevalence of mental stress within these organizations,” the report reiterates. It suggests that for comprehensive stress reduction strategies in organisations like CAPFs, interventions at the workplace and re-assessment of daily regimentation are imperative to mitigate issues such as suicides and fratricides stemming from mental health challenges.
How test should be conducted
Psychometric evaluation methods may be in addition to the current recruitment process regime to augment and strengthen it. The report says that based on the job roles, a specific psychometric evaluation structure may be evolved and introduced at the recruitment stage.
Two major subdivisions can be Psychometric Evaluation for Recruitment in CAPFs and Psychometric Evaluation for Recruitment State Police Forces. “The design of tests should include appropriate factors at each level of entry viz. Constables (other ranks), Sub- Inspectors and Officers (GOs). The task of designing the evaluation test methodology may be assigned to experts in this field from a reputed Institute/DIPR/University,” the report says.
What happens in India?
In India, the armed forces have been using some system of psychometric evaluation for entry to their officer cadre for a while now as part of their extensive process through the Services Selection Board. However, in police organisations both at the central and state levels (since the police leadership is either recruited by the Union Public Service Commission or by the respective Public Service Commission of the states) so far the only kind of personality evaluation that is done in the recruitment process is by way of interview.
Data collected
For the study, data was collected from CAPFs (BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, SSB, NSG) and analysed. This data pertained to the period 2014-2019 and data collected for each year related to the number of personnel who were categorised under ‘S’ factor i.e. suffering from various psychological disorders.
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