Police psychology in Spain: Development and applications

Abstract

This article presents the history of police psychology in'the world, paying special attention to the difficulties it has faced in Spain, related mainly to historical factors and to the peculiar characteristics of its police forces.

In second place, its main fields of application in this country, namely training and selection of members of the police, are presented. Undoubtedly, the Spanish situation is far from present conditions in other countries, where police psychology has completely established itself and includes many other fields of police intervention.