Evaluation of dynamics of law enforcement officers' personal features in their professional activity

Introduction. The study focuses on the assessment of dynamics of law enforcement officers' personal features during their professional activity. Materials and Methods. The researchers employed experimental psychological method with domestic version of MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), that is SMPI (Standardized Multiphasic Personality Inventory) giving information about both stable personal features and the current state during the test. The results of psycho-preventive checks of 78 Traffic Police officers and Patrol service in Kirov region were examined. The officers were examined in the psychophysiological diagnostics centre in 2006-2007 applying for the job position and in 2017 after 10 years of service. The examined were divided into two groups: I - middle commanders of traffic police; II - junior commanders of patrol service substituting for the positions in law enforcement. Results and Discussion. It is shown that the use of the basic SMPI scales for law enforcement officers is not sufficient to assess the dynamics of the personality structure, since during the preventive examinations the examinees tend to conceal any negative information about themselves in order to avoid problems in the workplace. Multiple use of the same methods reduces their informational value and effectiveness, which makes it impossible to identify the signs of maladaptation among law enforcement officers, especially at an early stage of formation. Conclusions. It is necessary to expand the range of personal psychological and experimental methods used in conducting psycho-preventive examinations of law enforcement personnel.