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At SafeGuard Psychological Services, our passion is providing psychological insights for those who protect and serve. With over a decade of experience conducting thousands of assessments for more than 100 departments and agencies throughout Texas, we are committed to supporting officer and first responder safety, resilience, and wellness.

Psychological testing is an integral part of employment screening for many industries. This is especially true for workers in the public safety sector, including police officers, firefighters, and other first responders. For these brave men and women, who are routinely involved in life-and-death scenarios and likely to be exposed to traumatic experiences on the job, emotional health is critical. Research on the use of psychological testing to screen employees in the law enforcement and fire service fields has shown psychological testing to be generally effective at identifying potential officers who will evidence poorer job performance[1]. Personality testing is also useful in distinguishing low versus high performing officers[2].

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) requires a pre-employment psychological evaluation for individuals seeking employment as a Peace Officer, County Jailer, Dispatcher/Telecommunicator, or School Marshal. Psychological evaluations are also required for students enrolling in a Police Academy in the State of Texas and for individuals seeking a Personal Protection Officer endorsement from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A pre-employment psychological evaluation is recommended for individuals seeking employment as a Firefighter or Paramedic/EMT, as these positions often involve exposure to multiple, consecutive traumas over long periods of time and require a high level of responsibility for public health and safety.  

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[1] Scogin, Schumacher, Gardner, & Chaplin, 1995; Sarchione, Cuttler, Muchinsky, & Nelson-Gray, 1998

[2] Detrick & Chibnall, 2006