[quote=CA renter]Right, you don’t state it, and then hope that they don’t find out. Good luck with that.
While I’m sure a few people might have gotten away with that (and only assuming they were fairly minor issues), I’m willing to bet it is a very small minority.[/quote]It is a bet you would probably lose. While there are many good cops, there are too many with chips on their shoulder, and problems in their lives. It is harder for them to reject candidates because they need them fairly badly.
[quote=CA renter]
I know what sociopaths are, and acknowledge that some sociopaths have probably managed to get into the police force (and other LE positions at all govt levels), but these agencies most definitely do everything they can to weed them out.[/quote]Yes and no. The nature of the sociopath is to conceal and ingrate themselves. It is only through sufficient cross-checking that you catch them.
[quote=CA renter]
FWIW, I think that some recruits might start with borderline personality/psychological issues, but the work can change them into full-blown problems. That is probably very likely, IMO.
[/quote]I don’t think it is the work, it is the access to authority and power over people, which is something that a sociopath craves. This also contributes to making it hard to weed them out. Would a sociopath rather go through a DOD/DIS/NSA screen to work behind a computer screen anonymously, or to go through a Police admission screen and then carry a gun in public and order people around? It also pulls in people who have authority complexes.
[quote=CA renter]
If you doubt that they have some of the most thorough and invasive screening procedures (especially relative to the private sector), what else do you think they can/should do, given their resources? How would you make the screening more thorough? I’m genuinely interested in hearing your ideas.[/quote]Might be useful to try to combine the search resources instead of using separate agencies. This might run across some privacy issues for police, but handle it like it was a Federal DOD issue instead of a state. If you want the job, must go through this screen.
As for personality, it is hard to find the socios until they reveal their hands.
