Publication of meta-analyses concluding that conscientiousness predicts performance has increased the use of personality tests in police officer selection batteries. In this study, we argue that it is not always appropriate to blindly apply these meta-analytic findings in practice. Criteria for inclusion into meta-analyses for practical purposes are presented, as well as results of a meta-analysis based on these criteria. The results showed conscientiousness was neither an effective nor consistent predictor of law enforcement performance. Practitioners are cautioned against believing that there is good evidence that conscientiousness scales predict law enforcement job performance. B arrick and Mount's meta-analysis on the relation between personality and job performance is considered a seminal article in the field of personnel selection. This study and others that followed it 1 have led to a general acceptance of the five-factor model of personality and its usefulness in predicting performance for all jobs. As a result, the use of personality tests as alternative selection devices in personnel selection has been advocated, specifically for selection of police officers. 2 Meta-analysis has been the foundation for theory and conclusions regarding the predictive validity of personality tests. 3 Often overlooked, however, are the practicalities of translating meta-analytic results to the practice of personnel selection. We argue in this paper that practitioners must be cautious in applying meta-analytic results to actual applicant settings. General problems with meta-analysis have been discussed elsewhere, 4 and have been noted in other fields such as medicine. 5 In this paper, we specifically address problems with indiscriminately applying meta-analytic results to real-world settings, using law enforcement occupations as an example. This is especially timely since the Department of Justice (DOJ) has advocated the use of personality tests to reduce adverse impact. 6 This paper has several goals. First, we examined the basis for the assertion that personality tests predict entry-level law enforcement officer performance. This discussion will focus on the difficulties associated with practical applications of meta-analytic results. In order to guide practitioners, we identify inclusion criteria that increase the

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