Policing and Psychopathy: The Case of Robert Philip Hanssen

The psychological construct of psychopathy has received considerable attention in the extant research. This is especially the case with respect to explaining the behavioral and personality dynamics of various offenders and criminal groups. Recently, the efficacy of the psychopathy concept has been extended outside the correctional context and applied to individuals and collectives in various organizational settings. One such environment, not yet subjected to scrutiny, is the occupation of policing where corruption and other integrity-based violations occur. This article examines the utility of the psychopathy construct for explaining the violently extreme behavior and personality structure of Robert P. Hanssen. Hanssen was a former FBI agent convicted of 15 counts of espionage. He exchanged highly classified government information (including nuclear war plans) to the former Soviet Union and Russia in return for money and diamonds. As a federal law enforcement agent, his wrongful acts were considered by many to be among the most devastating to national security in United States history. Several very provisional implications stemming from the case-study analysis are provided, especially in relation to police ethics.