Personality and police selection: Trait differences in successful and non-successful applicants to the metropolitan police

Three hundred and nineteen applicants to the Metropolitan Police Force (270 men and 49 women) were asked to complete the EPQ. Successful candidates were more extraverted and less neurotic than unsuccessful ones. No differences were found for P or L scores. All candidates ‘faked good’ displaying unusually high E and L scores and low N and P scores. The 64 applicants who declined to complete the questionnaire were less likely to be accepted into the force than the rest. It is hypothesized that this is because they are less outgoing types than their more willing counterparts. There was no difference in acceptance rates for men and women.