Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Managing Potentially Volatile Police–Public Interactions: A Narrative Review

Assessing between-officer variability in responses to a live-acted deadly force encounter as a window to the effectiveness of training and experience

We aimed to infer the effectiveness of officers' training and experience by assessing consistency of behavioural responses between them. If officers facing the same scenario respond in similar ways, this implies their use of shared cognition, through acquired in-common tactical knowledge. Officers (n = 42) responded to a live-acted scenario in which an assailant ultimately discharged his weapon. Triangulated camera positions assessed their movement patterns, final positions, and weapon responses relative to when the assailant fired his weapon. We also assessed the officers' visual search and gathered information regarding their experience and rest. Our second aim was to examine sources of variability in the officers' responses. We found extensive variability in all aspects of the response. Experience did not impact spatial or temporal behavioural responses. However, longer hours awake and lower reported rest negatively impacted officers' responses. We conclude that officers had insufficient training and experience to demonstrate in-common knowledge.Practitioner summary: Police officers showed high spatial and temporal variability in response to the same scenario. This implies inadequate tactical training, and is supported by our finding that training and experience did not impact performance. Instead, the officers' variability was constrained by their visual search, and the hours awake before being tested.

Evolution of Physical Training in Police Academies: Comparing Fitness Variables

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three different physical training approaches to improving cadets' fitness variables. Retrospective data for male and female land management law enforcement officers attending a 15-week training program at three separate time points were provided for analysis. The time points reflected the three different training approaches, including calisthenic training (CT) = 83, functional fitness training (FT) = 90, and strength training (ST) = 110. Inferential data analysis was used to find which mode of exercise had the greatest impact on body composition, cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, agility, and flexibility. All groups displayed decreases in body fat percentage, with weight loss being more significant within the CT and FT groups, while the ST group increased in body weight. The CT group had the greatest flexibility increases compared to the FT and ST groups. ST training elicited significantly smaller changes in cardiovascular endurance than the FT and CT groups. ST training showed greater improvements in lean mass, while CT and FT showed greater increases in flexibility and endurance. These results suggest that training protocols can increase performance and optimize the abilities to perform job tasks in tactical athletes.