Professionally important qualities of police officers with different performance and performing in different areas of official activity

Fedotova Eva Eduardovna Student, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, Leningradsky Ave., 40 fedotova_eva@list.ru Korneeva Yana Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9118-9539 PhD in Psychology Associate professor, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after MV Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangel'skaya oblast', g. Arkhangel'sk, ul. Nab. Severnoi, 17 amazonkca@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Arefina Marina Sergeevna Senior Lecturer of the Department of Psychology at Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov  163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, Leningradsky ave., 40, office 301 venckute@bk.ru Other publications by this author

Martirosova Natal'ya Veniaminovna PhD in Psychology Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, 40 Leningradsky Ave. martirosova2012@yandex.ru

Introduction. To date, the problem of ensuring the effective functioning of internal affairs bodies (ATS) is urgent. Citizens of the Russian Federation have a need for high-quality implementation of law enforcement functions by police officers, in a positive image of a police officer who ensures the safety of citizens, acts within the law and honestly performs professional duties.

The service itself in the internal affairs bodies is different in terms of the content of the types and specifics of activities. The effective implementation of any line of activity implies the performance of certain labor actions, functions, as well as the availability of specific knowledge and skills. According to Ya.A. Beletskaya, the system of qualification requirements needs to be revised ^[1]. To do this, it is necessary to develop job characteristics and more detailed qualification requirements for employees. The qualification characteristics of the positions should also set requirements for the personal and business qualities of the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs. The positions themselves should be divided into certain areas of activity.

At the moment, there are general requirements for personal and business qualities, regulated for use in the Department of Internal Affairs in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 06, 2012 No. 1259, which are presented to candidates for service in the Department of Internal Affairs. At the same time, the peculiarities of their severity for future employees performing different areas of official activity, such as, for example, administrative and preventive, operational and investigative criminal procedural, administrative and managerial activities, are not noted.

Determining the professional suitability of a specialist is a key problem in labor psychology. Scientists have developed the concepts of professional aptitude (E.A. Klimov, V.A. Bodrov, etc.). Professionally important qualities (PVK) are considered as a component of professional aptitude. In psychological science, a large number of studies have been conducted on the PVK of ATS employees, some of them are devoted to identifying the characteristics of the qualities of employees in different areas of activity. Professionally important qualities of police officers were studied by E.V. Kostina ^[2], N.A.Goncharova ^[3], V. I. Voronin ^[4] T. I. Kuchina ^[5], L. V. Kravtsova ^[6], G.K. Kopylova ^[7], L.Yu. Nezhkina, I.V. Yaroslavtseva ^[7], A.V. Kibko ^[8], V. A. Chebotyuk ^[9], J.E. Guffey ^[10], G.F. Meunier ^[11], S. Garbarino, C. Chiorri, N. Magnavita ^[12], M.R., Cunningham ^[13], N.C. Borgogna ^[14], H. Oliver ^[15], M. A. Aviva Twersky-Glasner ^[16], J. Skolnick, J. ^[17] PVCs for specific areas of activity were evaluated in the works of the following authors: A.V. Osintseva ^[18] characterized the PVCs of an ATS employee depending on the type of activity, Yu.A. Grachev ^[19] analyzed the PVCs in the activities of an operational officer, A.V. Isinger ^[20] identified the PVK of employees of security and convoy units, I.A. Parshutin and V.A. Klubnikina ^[21] studied the dynamics of the PVK of employees during service in operational units, and T.Y. Polozova ^[22] studied the role of cognitive processes in the structure of the PVK of traffic police officers.

The conducted analysis indicates the insufficiency of comprehensive studies of the PVK of ATS employees, including an assessment of all components of professional aptitude, as well as comparative studies of the PVK of employees engaged in various areas of professional activity.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the features of professionally important qualities of police officers with different performance and carrying out different areas of official activity.

The hypothesis of the study was the assumption that the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs performing different activities (administrative-preventive, operational-investigative, administrative-managerial) differ in the severity of intellectual and emotional-volitional qualities, which is due to the specifics of their professional activities. Common PVCs for ATS employees, regardless of their line of activity, are above-average development of intellectual and volitional properties and qualities.

Professionally important qualities of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs in accordance with the subjective components of professional fitness E.A. Klimova The topic of PVC is relevant for modern science and affects both theoretical and practical aspects.

This topic covers the problems of professional suitability, professional psychological selection, as well as subsequent targeted training and retraining of employees. Determining the complex of human capabilities and abilities, as well as intrapersonal resources and the potential of specialists is an important problem in psychology.

Professional aptitude is a systemic characteristic of the degree of compliance of a person with the requirements of the profession. E.A. Klimov developed the subjective components of professional aptitude, which include: civic qualities; attitude to work, profession, interests and inclinations to this field of activity; capacity; individual, private, special abilities; skills, habits, knowledge, experience. Klimov E.A. defined PVK as "such personality qualities that help a person to quickly learn the chosen profession, quickly adapt to the workplace and effectively perform professional functions." Traditionally, in labor psychology, the necessary and sufficient degree of expression of professionally important qualities is determined relative to the complex characteristics of its activity - efficiency.

PVK employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, are fixed in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 06, 2012 No. 1259. In Table 1, the regulated PVCs of ATS employees are distributed by us in accordance with the subject components of professional aptitude and are structured into subgroups for the possibility of determining all components of professional aptitude and determining more significant blocks of qualities.

Table 1 – PVK of ATS employees in accordance with the subject components of professional suitability of E.A. Klimov

Materials and methods of researchThe research materials were collected as part of a joint research project of the faculty of the Department of Psychology of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov and the Department of Psychological Work of the Moral and Psychological Department of the Department for Work with Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Arkhangelsk region in 2021-2022, which was attended by 78 employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of Arkhangelsk (56 - male, 24 – female) aged from 24 to 55 years (38.7 ± 6.54), with experience in the position from 1 to 21 years (4.60 ± 3.57) of the following professional groups:

- administrative and preventive activities - 20 people (average age: 38.8 ± 7.69; average length of service: 4.8 ± 3.76),

- operational investigative activity - 29 people (average age: 39.24 ± 6.39; average length of service: 5.07 ± 4.06),

- administrative and managerial activity - 29 (average age: 38.17 ± 5.99; average length of service: 4 ± 2.89).

Of these: employees applying for a higher position – 55 people; relocation staff – 23 people.

The group of employees engaged in administrative and preventive activities includes the following: precinct police commissioners, employees of juvenile affairs units, employees of the patrol and post police service, employees of the state road safety inspection unit, employees of the security, escort and detention units of suspects and accused (special police institutions).

The group of employees of operational investigative activities includes: operatives of criminal investigation units, departments for combating drug trafficking, departments for organized crime, units for combating economic crimes, operational search departments.

The group of police officers carrying out administrative and managerial activities includes: interrogators, investigators, senior investigators, investigators in particularly important cases, senior investigators in particularly important cases

Research methods:

1.                 Questionnaire survey. Performance parameters were determined using a questionnaire for assessing the professional effectiveness of extreme specialists (Korneeva Ya.A., Shakhova L.I., Martirosova N.V., Simonova N.N., Korneeva A.V.). The questionnaire consists of 37 questions, which are divided into three blocks, where performance criteria were evaluated. The performance parameters were evaluated according to the second block of the questionnaire (Table 2).

Table 2 - Performance criteria of ATS employees

2.                      Psychological testing. PVCs were studied using test methods regulated for use in the Department of Internal Affairs in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 06, 2012 No. 1259:

-       Progressive Raven matrices (J. Raven, D. Penrose),

-       The methodology "Dictionary" (developed by K. Sugonyaev on the basis of the subtest "Dictionary" of the methodology of J. Flanagan),

-       Individual typological questionnaire (L.N. Sobchik),

-       Five-factor personality questionnaire (R. McCrae, P. Costa),

- California Psychological Questionnaire (CPI) (Author G.Gauh, adaptation by N.V. Tarabrina, N.A. Countinina, N.A. Baturin),

- Value questionnaire (Sh. Schwartz).

The processing of the techniques was carried out using the hardware-software psychodiagnostic complex "Multipsychometer" used by psychologists of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Mathematical data processing was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23.00 statistical package using the following methods: descriptive statistics, two-stage cluster analysis (to separate employees by performance parameters), Pearson's conjugacy tables ?2 (for qualitative description of clusters), multidimensional MANOVA variance analysis (to determine statistically significant differences in the severity of PVK in ATS employees various areas of activity).

Research resultsDistribution of ATS employees into clusters relative to performance parameters

Based on a two-stage cluster analysis, the sample was divided into two clusters according to the performance parameters presented in Table 2.

The attribution of employees in one of the two clusters using Pearson's ?2 for conjugacy tables is correlated with the parameters of performance evaluation obtained by means of a questionnaire. This procedure allows you to identify parameters that are statistically significant for the distribution of surveyed employees by performance, correlate the cluster number with the level of performance and give it a meaningful interpretation. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to describe the differences in performance parameters measured in the questionnaire using interval scales.

It was found that the employees of the first cluster are characterized by a tendency to postpone the completion of some tasks or perform them with difficulty (45.2%). Employees noted that they receive incentives only occasionally (51.6%). According to the employees of the first cluster, managers evaluate their activities and professionalism well (77.4%). These employees also note that they had isolated cases of misunderstanding with the head (77.4%). For the employees of the first cluster, relations with colleagues are not officially business (83.9%), employees rated them more as confidential and friendly. Also, such employees were not inclined to take a leading role in the team (67.7%). Based on the characteristics, the employees of the first cluster can be characterized as average results.

Employees of the second cluster tend to effectively perform a wide range of tasks on time (97.9%). Employees noted that they also receive incentives only occasionally (74.5%).  According to the employees of the second cluster, managers evaluate their activities perfectly and well (34% and 57.4%) and professionalism (42.6% and 51.1%). These employees note to a greater extent that they do not face misunderstanding on the part of managers (57.4%). Employees of the second cluster note their relations with colleagues as officially business (44.7%), and such employees consider themselves inclined to take a leading role in the team (68.1%). Based on the characteristics, the employees of the second cluster can be characterized as highly productive.

It was revealed that representatives of the second cluster, unlike employees belonging to the first cluster, have higher indicators in all parameters of professional performance. Employees of the second cluster note to a greater extent their compliance with the requirements of the position, as well as compliance with the requirements for work in this structure / division (p= 0.001). Representatives of the first cluster are more likely to postpone things for later in comparison with representatives of the second cluster. The employees of the second cluster also note that they fully implement the work plan, and the quality of documentation preparation and performance of their duties, the intensity of their activities are high. Regarding personal characteristics, these employees note that they are characterized by a high level of motivation for work, for development and for career growth. Employees of the second cluster characterize themselves as disciplined, responsible, executive, proactive, sociable and emotionally stable persons. Thus, it can be concluded that the employees of the first cluster are average–performing, and the representatives of the second cluster are highly productive. 

Professionally important qualities of ATS employees with different professional orientation Further, four multidimensional analysis of variance were used to determine the severity of PVK in ATS employees of different professional orientation with different performance of official activity, where the parameters of the methods were used as dependent variables: Raven matrices, Dictionary, ITO, CPI, 5-FLO, Schwartz questionnaire, and the fixed factors were the attribution to one of two clusters according to performance parameters and belonging to one of the groups of professional orientation.

According to the data of multidimensional tests, there are statistically significant differences in the parameters of the Raven matrix, Dictionary, ITO, CPI, 5-FLO, Schwartz questionnaire among ATS employees with different professional orientation and different performance. Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 present variables that statistically significantly differ in the level of expression of professionally important qualities in groups of ATS employees with different professional orientation and different performance according to one-dimensional criteria. For all the parameters presented in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6, Levin's criterion of equality of variances of errors is greater than 0.05.

Table 3 – The severity of PVK in ATS employees with different professional orientation (according to one-dimensional criteria)

*Note: 0-3 — low level; 3.1-4.9 — below average; 5-6 — average level; 6.1-7.9 — above average; 8-10 — high level.

According to the data of one-dimensional tests, differences in the severity of PVK in ATS employees with different professional orientation are observed according to the qualities presented in Table 3. Speaking about the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, we can say that employees of administrative and preventive orientation are more cooperative and conscientious. Also, representatives of this direction note universalism as their most important values, which implies the need for understanding, tolerance and protection of the well-being of people around them. Thus, district police, traffic police inspectors and other administrative and preventive staff, due to the peculiarities of their activities (communication with various segments of the population to identify and prevent potentially dangerous situations), it is necessary to have qualities that contribute to the effective performance of official tasks.

Regarding cognitive properties, it should be noted that the speed of task completion (according to the methods of the "Dictionary" and the Raven matrix) has a higher indicator (above average) employees of administrative and preventive activities, and the productivity of the task (according to the Raven matrix method) is higher among representatives of the administrative and managerial direction. Since administrative and managerial activities are aimed at the implementation of auxiliary functions in relation to the police, the employees of these units need more developed erudition and horizons.

Regarding socio-psychological qualities, it can be seen that the employees of the administrative and preventive group are characterized by an average level of empathy, friendliness and involvement, as well as a low level of narcissism. In the study of E.G. Zueva, it was noted that qualities such as willingness to help, empathy, sincerity in communication determine the success of a district police officer in performing preventive functions, this confirms the importance of the characteristics of empathy and friendliness for employees of this direction. Those who have lower indicators of empathy are distinguished by initiative, enterprise, self-confidence, which, according to the results of the analysis, is typical for employees of administrative and managerial and operational-investigative orientation.

Compliance and conformity have the lowest values among employees of administrative and managerial activities, which suggests that employees of this direction are inclined to defend their rights to a greater extent and make independent decisions. This feature can be explained by the fact that the main task of this direction is to ensure the smooth functioning of the main parts of the police, which requires greater independence and independence.

            Speaking about emotional and volitional qualities, it is clear that the staff of the operational-investigative orientation is more characterized by a tendency (below average level) to maladaptation and aggression, these features speak about the extreme conditions of the operatives. A.S. Dushkin in the profile of the professional competencies of the operative indicates that the employee of this unit, effectively performing his activities, must keep working under depressing factors, be ready to react deliberately in case of aggressive influence.

            At the same time, it is worth noting that employees of all areas of activity are characterized by a low level of depression and a high level of self-control. This circumstance suggests that police officers are less characterized by auto-aggressive tendencies, they are able to fully exercise control over impulsive behavior and emotions.

Large differences between the groups are observed in the severity of the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, socio-psychological and emotional-volitional qualities: employees of the administrative and preventive orientation are more pronounced cooperation and conscientiousness, they are also distinguished by greater empathy, compared with other areas of activity;  employees of the administrative-managerial and operational-investigative orientation are more distinguished by initiative and enterprise; also, employees of the operational-investigative orientation are more characterized by a tendency to maladaptation and aggression.

Common PVCs for all areas of activity are a high level of intellectual abilities, a low level of depression and a high level of self-control.

Professionally important qualities of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs with different performance of official activity According to the data of one-dimensional tests, differences in the severity of PVK among ATS employees with different performance of official activity are observed according to the qualities indicated in Table 4. Speaking about the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, it is clear that the need for universalism is more important for employees with average performance, this means that such employees feel the need to in understanding, tolerance and protecting the well-being of others.

Cognitive and intellectual properties: for employees with high performance, unlike employees with average performance, it is typical to perform tasks at a higher speed (according to the Raven matrix method).

Table 4 – The severity of PVK in ATS employees with different performance of official activity (according to the data of one-dimensional criteria)

*Note: 0-3 — low level; 3.1-4.9 — below average; 5-6 — average level; 6.1-7.9 — above average; 8-10 — high level.

Regarding socio-psychological qualities, it should be noted that employees with high performance are characterized by a higher level of expression of such qualities as: extroversion, sociability, empathy, the desire to make a good impression on others and the desire for leadership. While employees with average performance are more characterized by introversion. This may indicate that a higher level of development of communication skills and emotional intelligence affects the effectiveness of activities.

Emotional and volitional qualities: employees with average performance are distinguished by a tendency to aggressive behavior and to depressive states. Employees with high performance are characterized by the expression of such quality as spontaneity. Thus, more efficient employees are able to control their emotions, and at the same time they tend to act quickly based on the situation.

Professionally important qualities of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of various professional orientation with different performance of official activityAccording to the data presented in Tables 5 and 6, it was found that employees have differences in the severity of PVK in the interaction of factors (subdivision * clusters for evaluating performance), i.e. employees performing different activities with different performance performance have statistically significant differences in their attitude to work and the severity of intellectual, cognitive, socio-psychological and emotional-volitional qualities and properties.

Speaking about the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, the ability to status is more characteristic of employees with average efficiency of operational investigative activities. People with high values on this scale are characterized as ambitious, striving to achieve success, optimistic. Employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive activities are characterized by high responsibility and effective performance of activities. At the same time, employees of the administrative and managerial direction with average performance have the lowest indicators in terms of ability to status, responsibility and efficiency of activity. That is, these employees will have a less significant value of feeling their own high position, as well as interest in the service. But it is worth noting that representatives of this line of activity, who work more efficiently, are more characterized by work orientation, that is, dedication to work, commitment to duty, discipline and responsibility.

Table 5 – Attitude to work and cognitive and intellectual properties of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of various professional orientation with different performance of official activity (according to one-dimensional criteria)

Regarding cognitive and intellectual properties, employees of the Department of Internal Affairs are characterized by high intellectual development, cognitive activity and a broad outlook. They are more focused on the process (according to the Raven matrix method) and on speed (according to the "Dictionary" method) employees of the administrative and preventive orientation perform the task. Employees of operational investigative activities with average performance are characterized by high indicators on the following scales: achievement through independence (a scale that predicts high achievements in conditions where independence and independence are required), intellectual efficiency and psychological mindset. That is, these employees are astute and resourceful, able to continue working on tasks that others would refuse. They are more focused on accuracy and efficiency (according to the "Dictionary" method) employees of the administrative and managerial direction with high efficiency of activity perform the task. At the same time, employees of this line of activity are characterized to a greater extent by such qualities as flexibility and creativity, which indicates their good imagination, ingenuity, and easy adaptability to change.

Table 6 – Socio-psychological and emotional-volitional characteristics of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of various professional orientation with different performance of official activity (according to the data of one-dimensional criteria)

*Note: 0-3 — low level; 3.1-4.9 — below average; 5-6 — average level; 6.1-7.9 — above average; 8-10 — high level.

Regarding socio-psychological qualities, it should be noted that the highest indicators of sociability, sociability and social presence are employees of the administrative and managerial direction with high performance, the lowest indicators according to these parameters are characteristic of employees with average performance of the same direction. These conclusions may be due to different functions performed by representatives of these areas of activity: for example, communication with other people is less important for engineers, and communication is an important factor in the service for employees of personnel departments.

Higher indicators of independence are noted among employees with high efficiency of administrative and managerial and administrative-preventive activities, which indicates their self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, independence. While the employees of the administrative and managerial direction with average performance showed the lowest level of independence and compromise. These results can also be explained by the different specifics of administrative and managerial divisions.

High indicators of leadership potential and friendliness are characteristic of employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive orientation. The average level of these qualities is characteristic of representatives of the administrative and managerial direction with average performance. This may also be due to the peculiarities of the activities of employees of the administrative and preventive direction, that is, communication with citizens. Employees who effectively carry out their activities are friendly, friendly and emotionally mature. 

High indicators of masculinity indicate initiative, enterprise, self-confidence, which, according to the results of the analysis, is more typical for employees of the operational-investigative orientation. The main function of the activities of the operatives is the organization and participation in the detection, prevention, suppression and disclosure of crimes of a common criminal orientation. Thus, extreme conditions of activity require determination, perseverance and independence from a person.

Speaking about emotional and volitional qualities, it should be noted that self-control and the ability to make a good impression are more characteristic of employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive activities, and the lowest indicators according to these parameters are characteristic of employees of the administrative and managerial direction with average performance. Thus, the emphasis is again placed on the specifics of the activities of district police officers, traffic police inspectors and other administrative and preventive staff, which consists in communicating with citizens. A high sense of well-being is more demonstrated by operatives with average performance, which indicates their good physical and mental well-being. Stubbornness, self-confidence, objectivity and rationality are also characteristic to a greater extent for employees with average efficiency of operational-investigative orientation. For operatives, due to the peculiarities of their activities, the ability to mobilize their personal resources quickly and efficiently is more important.

It has been established that employees of administrative and preventive activities are characterized by inertia of attitudes and wary suspicion, and for representatives of the administrative and managerial direction - a tendency to emotiveness and demonstrativeness.

There is a low level of severity of maladaptation, stenicity, depression and anxiety in all employees of the Department of Internal Affairs. However, a tendency to maladaptation is characteristic for a group with an average efficiency of operational-investigative orientation (the level is below average). Employees with average performance of administrative and preventive activities are characterized by a tendency to depression and anxiety. And employees of the administrative and managerial direction with average performance are characterized by a tendency to stenicity, that is, aggressiveness. These negative trends may be due to the specifics of the activities of the Department of Internal Affairs, which is reduced to the fight against crime.

The differences between the groups are observed in the severity of the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, cognitive, socio-psychological and emotional-volitional qualities: employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive activities are characterized by high responsibility and effective performance of activities; employees of the administrative and managerial direction with high performance are more characterized by work orientation, that is, dedication self to work, commitment to duty. Employees of the administrative and managerial direction are characterized to a greater extent by such qualities as flexibility and creativity, which indicates their good imagination, ingenuity, and employees of operational investigative activities have a psychological mindset and intellectual efficiency. Employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive orientation are characterized by higher indicators of leadership potential and friendliness, as well as high self-control and a desire for cooperation and mutual assistance; employees of the operational-investigative activity are characterized to a greater extent by self-confidence, objectivity and rationality.

Common PVCs for all areas of activity are a low level of maladaptation, stenicity, depression and anxiety. Also, employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of all areas of activity are characterized by high intellectual development, cognitive activity and a broad outlook.

Discussion of the resultsIn the course of an empirical study, we have divided the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs into groups regarding the performance characteristics of their activities, and also identified and described the general and different in the severity of the PVK of the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, carrying out different activities, with different effectiveness.

The hypothesis that the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, performing different activities, differ in the expression of intellectual and emotional-volitional qualities has been confirmed. Employees of the administrative and managerial direction are characterized to a greater extent by such qualities as flexibility and creativity; employees of operational investigative activities - a psychological mindset, intellectual efficiency, self–confidence, objectivity and rationality. Representatives of the administrative and preventive orientation are characterized by higher indicators of leadership potential and friendliness, as well as high self-control and a desire for cooperation and mutual assistance.

In the study of A.V. Osintseva, O.V. Garmanova ^[18], devoted to the study of the orientation of the personality of ATS employees depending on specialization, differences in the features of intellectual development and the features of the emotional-volitional sphere of employees were established. In the work of V.A. Tsilik ^[23], an assessment of the PVK of the ATS employees was made depending on the type of activity. It is established that for the employees of operational investigative activities, the most important are communicative qualities and skills, memory features and such groups of qualities as attention and observation. For representatives of the administrative and preventive orientation, according to the author, the most important is the development of such groups of qualities as communicative, intellectual and emotional-volitional. 

It is established that the common PVCs for the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, regardless of the direction of their activities, are the above-average development of intellectual and volitional properties and qualities. Common strong-willed qualities for all areas of activity is a low level of maladaptation, stenicity, depression and anxiety. Also, employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of all areas of activity are characterized by high intellectual development, cognitive activity and a broad outlook. These conclusions correlate with the research results of other authors.

In the work of L.Yu. Nezhkina, I.V. Yaroslavtseva ^[7] it is said about the importance of intellectual properties and emotional-volitional qualities for the effectiveness of official activity. In addition, the level of intelligence development is above average, as well as high emotional stability, a friendly attitude to the world, high self-esteem enable employees to successfully adapt to new conditions of activity, as well as quickly and adequately navigate difficult moral and psychological situations. In the study of A.G. Badaev ^[24] with co-authors, statistically significant positive correlations of the integral indicator of general mental abilities and various types of aggressive reactions were established. This proves the high importance of studying these properties for conducting professional psychological selection of candidates for service in the Department of Internal Affairs who plan to carry out different areas of official activity, as well as for analyzing the results of periodic evaluation of employees engaged in different areas of activity.

The conducted research made it possible to develop a number of practical recommendations for psychologists of the Department of Internal Affairs when selecting candidates for service of various professional orientation:

1)                 When conducting a conversation, candidates of administrative and preventive orientation should pay attention to what their motivation is when entering the service, how they relate to work (responsibly, conscientiously), whether they have developed communicative qualities and empathy, whether they are able to constructively resolve conflict situations.

2)                 Candidates of operational-investigative orientation should also pay attention to what they are motivated by when entering the service, whether they have developed intellectual abilities, whether they are prone to justified risk and initiative in their activities.

3)                 When conducting a conversation, candidates of administrative and managerial orientation should pay attention to whether they are inclined to show flexibility and creativity in their work, whether they have developed communicative qualities, as well as how labile and mobile they are, that is, mobile in communicating with other people.

The limitation of this study is the use of a list of regulated and recommended methods to determine the PVK, the evaluation of the parameters of the effectiveness of the activity through subjective methods, as well as the sample size and the conduct of the study in one region of the Russian Federation. In this connection, expanding the list of diagnostic tools and conducting research in other regions of the country to be able to correlate their results with the data obtained are promising areas of study of this issue.

ConclusionsAs a result of the conducted research, it was found that the differences between the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of different professional orientation are observed in the severity of the attitude to work and motivation of professional activity, cognitive, socio-psychological and emotional-volitional qualities and properties.

Employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive activities are characterized by high responsibility and effective performance of activities; employees of administrative and managerial orientation with high performance are more characterized by work orientation, that is, dedication to work, commitment to duty. Employees of administrative and managerial activities are characterized to a greater extent by such qualities as flexibility and creativity, which indicates their good imagination, ingenuity, and employees of operational investigative activities have a psychological mindset and intellectual efficiency. Employees with high efficiency of administrative and preventive orientation are characterized by higher indicators of leadership potential and friendliness, as well as high self-control and a desire for cooperation and mutual assistance; employees of the operational-investigative activity are characterized to a greater extent by self-confidence, objectivity and rationality.

Common PVCs for all areas of activity are a low level of maladaptation, stenicity, depression and anxiety; the desire to make a good impression and the desire to lead. Also, employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of all areas of activity are characterized by high intellectual development, cognitive activity and a broad outlook.