‘The public tends to forget, but nonetheless understands and will agree with the service that officers are busy people, hard pressed, pressured by limited resources and pressing demands, often reflective of primitive emotions rather than considered reflection. The public, however, entrusts the police service – from top landing to the ‘front line’ – to keep its head and to observe society's moral guidelines to respect the person, to tell the truth and to converse accordingly.’ (Shepherd, 1991b:55)

‘The interviewing or interrogation of suspects is often seen by police officers, especially detectives, as a good way of demonstrating their professional prowess. A great deal of respect will be given to the police officer who is able to persuade a reluctant suspect finally to confess to the crime in question – the more serious the crime, the greater will be the kudos.’ (Ainsworth, 2000a:174)

‘The police uniform can have extraordinary psychological and physical impact. Depending on the background of the citizen, the police uniform can elicit emotions ranging from pride and respect, to fear and anger.’ (Johnson, 2001:28)

Introduction

The domain of policing offers ample opportunity for psychological research. As psychological research is appreciated more by police management and an evaluation component is included more often than it used to be when changes are introduced within police forces, psychologists will come to play a more significant part in contributing to knowledge about, and influencing developments in, a broad range of policing issues.