ABPPSP: Evaluations of Police Suitability and Fitness for Duty
Presented by: David M. Corey, PhD, ABPP, and Mark Zelig, PhD, ABPP
8 Hours / 8 CEs
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
This on-demand professional training program on Evaluations of Police Suitability and Fitness for Duty is presented by Dave Corey, Ph.D., ABPP, and Mark Zelig, Ph.D., ABPP, in partnership with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP).
This program provides a comprehensive overview of the two most common psychological evaluations conducted by police psychologists: evaluations of the psychological suitability of police candidates and the psychological fitness of incumbent police officers.
This program discusses the most prominent federal laws and regulations, professional practice guidelines, and ethical standards pertaining to these evaluations. The presenters also provide detailed procedural guidance, including advice for obtaining informed consent, providing disclosure to the involved parties, conducting clinical and collateral interviews, selecting written assessment instruments, integrating the assessment findings to reach determinations of suitability and fitness, and preparing written reports and testimony that anticipate their various audiences and uses.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- 1 Describe the relevance of no fewer than three federal statutes to police suitability and fitness evaluations
- 2 Describe the relevance of four sets of professional practice guidelines to police suitability and fitness evaluations
- 3 Describe provisions in your informed consent document that will decrease the likelihood of ethical and legal issues from arising when you provide suitability or fitness evaluations
- 4 Describe the evaluation procedures common to both police suitability and fitness evaluations, as well as procedures that are unique to each
- 5 Describe the advantages of using a data integration model in police suitability and fitness evaluations
- 6 Describe methods for avoiding four common errors in writing police suitability and fitness evaluations
Presented By
David M. Corey, PhD, ABPP Psychologist
David M. Corey, Ph.D., ABPP is a licensed psychologist with nearly 40 years of experience performing high-stakes evaluations of candidates and employees in public safety positions (e.g., police officers, firefighters, emergency dispatchers, corrections officers, parole and probation officers, federal law enforcement personnel) and other safety-sensitive positions, including physicians, nurses, and pilots. He is the founding president of the American Board of Police & Public Safety Psychology, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 18). He is an ABPP board certified specialist in both forensic psychology and in police and public safety psychology.
Presented By
Mark Zelig, PhD., ABPP Independent Practice in Forensic and Police Psychology
Mark Zelig served as a lieutenant on the Salt Lake City Police Department. Before retiring in 2001, he earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama. He is board certified in Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology, and Police and Public Safety Psychology. Dr. Zelig has a national independent practice in forensic and police psychology, with offices in Utah and Alaska. He frequently serves as an expert witness for civil and criminal cases involving psychologically-based evidence. He conducts fitness-for-duty and pre-employment evaluations for high risk professions and for impaired professionals. He has served in numerous governance positions within APA and IACP, including chairing the Police and Public Safety Psychology Section of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has a combined total of more than 140 professional publications, presentations, and workshops.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
-
This program provides a comprehensive overview of the two most common psychological evaluations conducted by police psychologists:
- Evaluations of the psychological suitability of police candidates
- The psychological fitness of incumbent police officers -
Participants learn:
- The most prominent federal laws and regulations
- Professional practice guidelines
- Ethical standards pertinent to these evaluations -
The presenters also cover procedural guidance, including:
- Advice for obtaining informed consent
- Providing disclosure to the involved parties
- Conducting clinical and collateral interviews
- Selecting written assessment instruments
- Integrating the assessment findings to reach determinations of suitability and fitness
- Preparing written reports and testimony that anticipate their various audiences and uses
We are proud to partner with
American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology
We are proud to partner with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP) for this training. ABPPSP became a fully affiliated specialty board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) on October 21, 2011. Police and Public Safety Psychology is concerned with assisting law enforcement and other public safety personnel and agencies in carrying out their missions and societal functions with optimal effectiveness, safety, health, and conformity to laws and ethics. It consists of the application of the science and profession of psychology in four primary domains of practice: assessment, clinical intervention, operational support, and organizational consultation.
CE Sponsorship Information
Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here.
American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).
Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.