Since the 1960s, police services seek support of psychologists on a variety of matters
in policing and law enforcement, especially on the selection and well-being of their
staff (Yuille, 1992).
Psychology as a science and the profession of psychologists went through very
dynamic developments over the past decades. It is also clear every year that psychology
is becoming increasingly more relevant for the police services and law enforcement
in Europe. Over this time span the relationship between police services and
psychologists has seen dynamic fluctuations. The progress of cooperation was by
far not linear, and it took efforts from both professional sides so that today psychological
know-how is not only fully accepted within police services but also seen as
an important element in the landscape of police science.
This development required to a certain degree a change in the cultures of
policing. Some stereotypes of old-fashioned “tough cop cultures” have been almost
hostile against psychologists discussing their emotions.