Candidates for service in the SOP undergo a detailed qualification procedure and cyclical examinations, including: psychological. However, former BOR and SOP officers emphasize in an interview with PAP that even rigorous procedures cannot prevent all tragic events.
How does the State Protection Service verify candidates for its formation
All SOP officers, regardless of the unit in which they serve, are subject to the same qualification procedures and cyclical tests. The regulation of the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration of 2018 on the qualification procedure for candidates for service in the SOP shows that the procedure is complex and two-stage.
The first stage of the qualification procedure includes submitting the required documents and an interview. The second stage includes, among others: knowledge test, physical fitness test, psychological examination, polygraph examination, personal data check, obtaining a security clearance for the “Confidential” or “Secret” clause and presenting a medical certificate.
A candidate for service in the SOP completes a detailed questionnaire regarding, among others: personal data, family situation, education and professional experience. Then it is carried out interviewduring which, among others, communication skills, motivation to serve in the SOP and self-presentation skills.
What is assessed during the interview
During the interview, the precision of statements, the logicality of arguments, the ability to control one's own behavior, maintaining calm and resistance to stress are also examined. Self-assessment of predispositions to serve in the SOP is also assessed, including indication of one's own strengths and weaknesses, as well as candidates' general knowledge.
Psychological research are carried out for candidates who successfully passed the interview. They include the assessment of intellectual predispositions, social behavior, emotional stability, personality and character traits, as well as attitude towards work and official duties. The study also includes a conversation regarding experiences, motivation and predispositions to serve in the SOP. Based on the results, a psychological opinion is prepared; its positive result is equivalent to passing the psychological test.
Physical fitness tests include strength, speed and fitness tests.
As the SOP spokesman told PAP, Psychological examinations of officers are carried out every two to three years, but drivers are subject to them more often. Physical fitness tests and general health examinations take place annually. Psychological tests are analogous to those performed by other services that have access to weapons.
Difficult work under stress
Former BOR and SOP officers interviewed by PAP admit, however, that even the most thorough psychological tests cannot prevent all situations such as the one that occurred a few weeks ago in Ustka.
– This is a job under great pressure, often under great stress, and you never know what can trigger such extreme emotions in a person – a former officer who asked for anonymity told PAP. – The tests are carried out reliably, but such events can always happen, especially if a trigger occurs. In this case, as everything indicates, these were family problems, he added.
Another PAP interlocutor, who in the past belonged to the top management of the Security Service, admitted that he did not remember a similar case involving an officer of this service, although – as he noted – there had been, among others, suicide.
He said that a situation in which someone attacks their own child with a knife is extreme and requires a detailed explanation. – It is not known whether the officer was under the influence of any substances or whether there was a sudden manifestation of a mental illness that routine tests could not detect. We also do not know his previous experiences, including those related to his service in the SOP, he pointed out.
The PAP interlocutor pointed out that the greatest mental problems usually concerned officers returning from posts in areas of armed conflict. – These are people who function under extreme stress for a long time and are taught very simplified patterns of reacting to threats – said the former officer. (PAP)
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