New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 10 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Chapter 29 - LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY
Part 9 - POLICE OFFICER
Section 10.29.9.12 - PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION
Universal Citation: 10 NM Admin Code 10.29.9.12
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Procedure:
(1) Prior to admission
to training or certification as a law enforcement officer in the state of New
Mexico, it shall be necessary for each applicant to be examined by a
licensed/certified psychologist who shall certify to the individual's emotional
and mental condition on a form prescribed by the director and entitled "mental
examination certification".
(2)
Private firms who administer psychological examinations for law enforcement
officers shall be acceptable if, however, a qualified representative as stated
in Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of 10.29.9.12 NMAC completes the appropriate
form as prescribed by the director.
(3) The applicant shall also prepare and
submit a form prescribed by the director and entitled "psychological statement
of applicant".
(4) False or
incorrect statements in either form are grounds for revocation of any
certificate granted.
(5)
Evaluations cannot be more than one year old for admission/certification
purposes.
(6) The psychological
evaluation/written report will be required to be attached to the LEA-4 form.
The written evaluation shall be returned to the department head at the time of
certification and shall not be maintained in student training files.
(7) The applicant shall not hold the
privilege of obtaining the evaluation; evaluations are the property of the
referring agency and shall be held in the strictest of confidence. A
self-sponsored applicant may hold the privilege of obtaining the evaluation,
however, the original report must still be sent directly to the academy upon
completion by the psychologist.
(8)
If any information concerning psychological screening/evaluation provided to
the director or the person evaluating the applicant's suitability is found to
be false or not truthful, the applicant will be either refused enrollment or if
certified, decertified in accordance with
10.29.1.10
NMAC through
10.29.1.17
NMAC.
(9) Applicant failure of
psychological examination must be reported to the New Mexico law enforcement
academy within 30 days.
B. Screening process:
(1) Purpose: The intent of these guidelines
is to set minimally acceptable standards for pre-employment psychological
testing of persons seeking certification as police officers in New
Mexico.
(2) Examiner standard:
Pre-employment psychological testing shall be conducted by a licensed/certified
psychologist. In the event the psychologist does not have appropriate training
in this area, he/she should seek supervision as per the guidelines of the
American psychological association ethical standards and code of
conduct.
(3) Overview of process:
At a minimum, the pre-employment psychological testing process shall consist of
the following:
(a) psychological
testing;
(b) face-to-face
interview;
(c) written narrative
report;
(d) completed New Mexico
LEA-4 form; and
(e) informed
consent/release of information form.
(4) Psychological testing: The pre-employment
psychological testing shall include, at a minimum, testing across the following
areas:
(a) a measure of reading ability such
as the wide range achievement test (WRAT), the Nelson-Denny reading test, or
other comprehensive measure which yields a grade-level score;
(b) a measure of psychopathology, such as the
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory second revised version (MMPI-2),
the personality assessment inventory (PAI) or the Millon-3; and
(c) a measure of normal personality
functioning, such as the 16PF, the LEADER or the Inwald personality
inventory.
(5)
Interview: The interview shall be conducted in-person by the licensed/certified
psychologist in a face-to-face setting with the candidate. At a minimum, the
interview will cover the following areas:
(a)
a brief mental status exam;
(b)
gather or review a social history, to include relevant information regarding
early development, schooling, military service, job history and potential
problems issues, such as drug and alcohol use, driving, fighting, domestic
violence, and past critical life events;
(c) explore areas of judgment and
reliability, such as impulse control, communication, appropriate use of force,
social skills, common sense, and credit history; and
(d) any other aspects of personal development
(i.e. medical history) that the examiner deems important.
(6) Written report: The report shall
incorporate all information gathered in the interview and testing. Any
clinically significant elevations in test scores shall be discussed and their
impact upon job performance explored. The examiner should address the ability
of the candidate to perform the essential job functions, some of which may be
unique to the sponsoring agency. If the candidate is not recommended, the
report should enumerate which essential job functions he/she is incapable of
performing.
(7) All psychologists
performing pre-employment testing must conform to the guidelines of the
American psychological association regarding storage of records.
C. Rejection of applicant and subsequent psychological evaluation within 12 months:
(1) In the event an applicant receives a
psychological rejection a subsequent or additional psychological evaluation may
only be obtained as provided for in Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of this
section, and this subsequent psychological evaluation must first be approved by
the director through the appeal process as outlined and provided for in
Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of this section. This evaluation must be
requested within 30 days of the rejection.
(2) A psychological evaluation obtained
without the approval of the director within 12 months of the rejection will not
be accepted.
(3) Any rejected
applicant who does not appeal the rejection may reapply to a New Mexico law
enforcement agency 12 months from the signature date of the
rejection.
D. Appeal process:
(1) In the event an
applicant receives a rejection, the applicant or agency may request that the
rejection be reviewed within 30 days of signature date. This request shall be
submitted to the New Mexico law enforcement academy director in writing and
state the reason that an appeal is warranted.
(a) Reviewing authority will be a New Mexico
licensed psychologist(s) designated by the director.
(b) Results of this review will be
communicated in writing to the New Mexico law enforcement academy.
(2) If the reviewer concurs with
the rejection, the applicant will be eligible to reapply to a New Mexico law
enforcement agency 12 months from the signature date of the original
evaluation.
(3) If, in the judgment
of the reviewer, a second psychological opinion is warranted:
(a) The second opinion will be rendered by a
New Mexico licensed psychologist chosen by the New Mexico law enforcement
academy director or his/her designee.
(b) Psychologist will review all test data
and other information that was available to the initial psychologist (i.e.,
background investigation and polygraph results).
(c) The second evaluation, at minimum, will
follow the guidelines for pre-employment evaluations as outlined by the New
Mexico law enforcement academy. The psychologist may review the original test
data and will use, at a minimum, one additional testing instrument for the
second evaluation.
(d) Psychologist
may request other information from the applicant, the agency, or the New Mexico
law enforcement academy prior to conducting the evaluation.
(e) The cost of this evaluation will be borne
by the agency or the applicant.
(f)
If the results of the second evaluation are negative, the applicant may reapply
to a New Mexico law enforcement agency 12 months from the signature date of the
second opinion.
(g) If the results
of the second evaluation are positive, the applicant's name will be removed
from the list of failed applicants.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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