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Purpose -The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of personality traits, namely the Big Five, as a means of selection in good police officers. Design/methodology/approach -The current study examines a sample of 96 police officers from eight non-urban police departments. Findings -Age and attitude were found to be better predictors of job performance measures than were personality traits. A cynical work attitude was negatively related to ratings of job performance. Officer age was found to have a non-linear relationship to job performance. Research limitations/implications -Difficulties in measuring police performance are discussed, as is the relative importance of individual officer personality versus organizational culture. Originality/value -The study extends the research on police officer selection and issues of job performance and measurement.

The qualities which make a good police officer are often difficult to identify. Traits such as intelligence, common sense, dependability, and honesty appear more frequently than others in the police literature. This issue is complicated by two matters. First there is the difficulty in measuring job performance and linking job tasks to personality characteristics. Second is the importance of the police organization in influencing officer behavior, sometimes despite personal characteristics. This review of the literature examines the personality traits thought to be characteristic of a good police officer and discusses the difficulties of measuring as well as predicting good police performance.

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