THIS STUDY WAS PROMPTED BY FEDERAL AND JUDICIAL REQUIREMENT PLACED ON LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO UPGRADE PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCEDURES AND TO ASSURE FAIR HIRING PRACTICES, TO WHICH RESEARCHERS HAVE RESPONDED WITH INCREASED PROBING INTO THE ISSUES INVOLVED IN POLICE SELECTION. AMONG THE MOST WIDELY USED INSTRUMENTS IN THE SCREENING PROCEDURE ARE VARIOUS FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL AND ABILITY TESTS, ALTHOUGH THEIR RELEVANCE TO LATER JOB PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN QUESTIONED. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS, PROVIDING BIOGRAPHICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE RELATED TO PERFORMANCE. ORAL INTERVIEWS, WITH OR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THE POLYGRAPH, HAVE BEEN USED IN MOST AGENCIES' SCREENING PROCEDURES. PSYCHOLOGICAL AND APTITUDE TESTS HAVE SHOWN MIXED PREDICTIVE RESULTS. MOTIVATION FOR POLICE WORK AND VALUE TESTING HAVE NOT BEEN RESEARCHED IN SUFFICIENT DEPTH TO PREDICT RESULTS. SITUATIONAL OR SIMULATION TESTS HAVE PROVED TO BE REVEALING IN SCREENING TESTS, AND USEFUL FOR TRAINING PURPOSES. TOGETHER WITH SELECTION OF THE MOST EFFICIENT INSTRUMENTS FOR SCREENING POLICE APPLICANTS, JOB PERFORMANCE CRITERIA SHOULD BE CAREFULLY SCRUTINIZED FOR RELIABILITY; RATING SCALES ANCHORED WITH BEHAVIORAL STATEMENTS HAVE A POTENTIAL FOR GREATER RELIABILITY THAN OTHER CRITERIA. EMPLOYMENT STATUS (LENGTH OF SERVICE, RETENTION, DISMISSAL, OR RESIGNATION) IS ALSO USED FREQUENTLY, AND CROSS-VALIDATION OF SELECTION PROCEDURES IS NEEDED. FINALLY, THEORETICAL, PRACTICAL, AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED BY RESEARCHERS OR PROVIDERS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENING SERVICES ARE OUTLINED (E.G., THE CRITERION PROBLEM, THE SETTING OF THE SCREENING PROCEDURE, THE USE OF THE RESULTS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION, AND THE METHOD OF REPORTING RESULTS). A LIST OF 75 REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LGR)