Editor’s Note: The full study is available here – Safety of Vascular Neck Restraint Applied by Law Enforcement Officers In 2021 federal politicians concluded that both chokeholds and carotid restraints – also known as vascular neck restraints (VNR) — were inherently dangerous and had “too often led to tragedy.” With this pronouncement, federal law enforcement...Read More
Research: Visual Focus – What, Where, When, and How? Research has found that attentional control, including recognizing and visually focusing on relevant information, is a key to successful athletic performance in complex and dynamic competitions. Similarly, research has found that attentional control can positively influence police officers’ emotional regulation and improve tactical decision-making. Without an...Read More
In April of 2022, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director at Force Science, was invited to Mesa, Arizona, to evaluate the U.S. Marshals’ latest High-Risk Fugitive Apprehension – Human Performance training. Dr. Lewinski was not disappointed, “The Marshals’ training was exceptional. They’re not only building excellent tactical officers, they are using the latest evidence-based learning strategies...Read More
Depending on who you ask, excited delirium syndrome (ExDS) is either a group of symptoms that warn of a life-threatening medical condition or it is a diagnosis invented by racist and abusive police to excuse murder.1,2 Among those that use the term ExDS, the medical consensus is that ExDS is not a unique disease but...Read More
A new study led by Ph.D. student Andrew Brown1 examined the effects of grip strength and gender on shooting performance.2 Brown and fellow researchers sought to verify independent studies showing that grip strength was directly related to a person’s ability to manage aim, recoil, and trigger pull. These skills are widely recognized as some of...Read More
A new study led by Simon Baldwin1 examined over 10,700 use of force cases and found a significant risk of adverse outcomes in cases involving excited delirium syndrome (ExDS).2 Researchers assumed that an encounter with someone exhibiting probable ExDS might result in adverse outcomes, including greater levels of force and increased risk of injury to...Read More
The Association of Force Investigators (AFI) is a new association formed to provide training and support for force investigators. AFI brings together local, national, and international police use-of-force experts, including human factors researchers, attorneys, psychologists, use-of-force investigators, and trainers. Through a secure online platform, members can network, communicate, and share resources. Leading experts provide specialized...Read More
If you have read the San Francisco Police Crisis Intervention Team 2020 Police Commission Report, you would be forgiven for thinking there was a misprint. Of the nearly 50,000 annual crisis-related calls for service, the San Francisco Police used force only 51 times. That’s a use of force rate of 00.1%. Even with 2800 people...Read More
The Force Science Institute has completed three new studies on the speed and movements associated with armed assaults. Dr. Bill Lewinski explained: “The goal of our research was to obtain highly accurate measurements to further explore the findings of our earlier studies. Where we once measured movement speeds in the hundredths of a second, we...Read More
To participate in police-reform discussions, it’s helpful to appreciate the multiple incentives driving the movement. Some believe that the police are members of a racist system and that violent criminals are merely responding to years of systemic oppression. Others believe that the police provoke violence or simply don’t do enough to avoid it. In either...Read More
