June 2026
POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY PSYCHOLOGY: A GUIDE FOR POLICE CHIEFS
Dr. Lewis Schlosser, NJSACOP Chief Psychologist
Not all psychologists are created equal. Choosing the wrong psychologist isn’ t a minor mistake. It can compromise officer safety, expose your agency to unnecessary liability, and erode trust within your ranks. As a Police Chief, you should ensure that your agency’ s psychologist is competent at working with police and public safety personnel.
Police and Public Safety Psychology( https:// www. apa. org / ed / graduate / specialize / police) is a specialty area of practice, which is formally recognized by the American Psychological Association. Psychologists who work with law enforcement personnel and agencies specialize in Police and Public Safety Psychology. Within that community of professionals, some psychologists have taken the extra step in becoming Board Certified in Police and Public Safety Psychology. Becoming Board Certified is a rigorous peer-review process designed to ensure competent practice and demonstrate expertise in a specialty area. To determine if your agency psychologist is Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, you can search online( https:// abpp. org / directory /) and / or look for the letters ABPP after their degree. That said, most psychologists who are Board Certified are likely to make their credentials public( e. g., in their e-mail signature).
Within the IACP is the Police Psychological Services Section( PPSS), which is the professional home for psychologists who specialize in police and public safety psychology. The PPSS publishes several guidelines; these are written by subject matter experts to provide real world advice to Police Chiefs in several domains. The guidelines are as follows:
Lewis Z. Schlosser, PhD, ABPP, is the managing partner at the Institute for Forensic Psychology, which is a police and public safety focused specialty practice currently serving agencies in New Jersey, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Domain
Pre-Employment Psychological Evaluations
Of�icer-Involved Shooting
Psychological Fitness for Duty Evaluations
Website
https:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / all / p-r / Psych- PreemploymentPsychEval1. pdf
https:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / 2019- 05 / Of�icer % 20Involved % 20Shooting % 20Guidelines % 202018. pdf
https
:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / 2024 % 20FFDE % 20Guid elines. pdf
Peer Support
Wellness Visits
Wellness Initiatives https:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / Psych- PeerSupportGuidelines % 20- % 204.11.2022. pdf
https:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / IACP % 20PPSS % 20Welln ess % 20Visit % 20Guidelines _ 0. pdf
https:// www. theiacp. org / sites / default / �iles / IACP % 20Police % 20Of�ic er % 20Wellness % 20Initiatives % 20( 1)_ 0. pdf
Each set of guidelines gets reviewed and updated every five or six years. Currently, the Officer Involved Shooting guidelines are going through the revision process. The guidelines are all available on the IACP website, and you do not need to be an IACP member to access the guidelines. These guidelines are designed to be helpful to Police Chiefs and the agencies they lead.
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