About Us - Force Science

Our Mission

Through high-quality research and training, Force Science advances expert decision-making, superior performance, and honest accountability in public safety.

Force Science consists of three interconnected divisions

Research

The Division of Research conducts high quality scientific research, presents findings at academic conferences, and publishes scholarly works in a variety of academic and professional outlets. Our research provides the foundation for Force Science training programs.

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Training

The Division of Training puts research into practice by educating administrators, trainers, investigators, attorneys, officers, and other legal professionals in the application of Force Science concepts during their use of force investigations, training, and work in the field.

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Consulting

The Division of Consulting provides expert support to assist attorneys, judges, jurors, review board members, investigators, and others involved in the determination of the appropriateness of an officer’s response during a force encounter with the objective of providing individuals a better understanding of the scientific realities surrounding the event.

Force Science Defined

Force Science is the research and application of unbiased scientific principles and processes to determine the true nature of human behavior in high stress and deadly force encounters.

The Team

Staffed by a world-class team of physicians, psychologists, behavioral scientists, attorneys, and other leading professionals, Force Science is dedicated to the unbiased application and further study of 150 years of existing scientific research on a wide range of areas associated with human factors, including the intricacies of human movement, action/reaction times, how the mind works during rapidly unfolding events, and decision-making under stress.

Meet the Instructors

Subjects Investigated

The list continually grows as funding becomes available to explore new topics. Our research has already destroyed myths and discovered cold facts about some of the most controversial force issues, including, but not limited to:

How threatening suspects can end up struck in the back by well-trained officers making valid, lawful shooting decisions.
Why officers continue to fire “extra” rounds in high-adrenaline confrontations, even after the threat has ended.
What popular tactics used by some officers trying to reduce lag time put officers at higher risk.
The effect of weapon manipulation on spent shell casing ejection.
Perception, attention, and memory in rapidly unfolding high-stress encounters.

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We Can Help

Force Science research and resources can be highly beneficial to professionals who need to stay up-to-date with practical, cutting-edge research surrounding human factors and use of force incidences. In-house scientific research has been used to aid with complex Internal Affairs investigations, grand jury hearings, civil suits, criminal cases, department use of force audits, training scenarios and other challenging situations where professional insights are needed. We have a detailed history of working directly with Law Enforcement Trainers, Administrator or Line Officers, Use of Force Investigators, Public Information Officers, Police Union Representatives, Judges, Prosecutors, Police Attorneys, Medical Examiners, and other professionals involved in force matters.