This Force Science News continues the summary of Dr. Bill Lewinski’s presentation to the Police Psychological Services Section at the 2023 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego. In Part 1 of this article, Accelerated Heart Rates and Elite Performance, we explored the myth that high arousal levels will always impair performance....Read More
This Force Science News is a summary report of Dr. Bill Lewinski’s presentation to the Police Psychological Services Section at the 2023 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego. The presentation covered: The myth that high levels of arousal will always impair performance; How attentional and cognitive workspace can affect performance under...Read More
Policing is partly characterized by the specialized knowledge and practice that it brings to problem-solving, conflict resolution, and risk management. Policing borrows extensively from other disciplines, including law, psychology, social work, medicine, and motor learning. Maintaining possession of this specialized and integrated body of knowledge is challenging and requires the police to engage in extended...Read More
Recent developments in cognitive, perceptual, and performance psychology may provide insights into how officers can improve decision-making, performance, and emotional effectiveness during critical incidents. In 2010 Force Science presented its findings from eye scan research conducted with Dr. Joan Vickers.1 In our research, we observed that, when compared to novice shooters, the experts perceived critical...Read More
After decades of assessing law-enforcement training, the Force Science Institute (FS) continues to share some of its most compelling research findings. In this series, we introduced our research into traditional training methods and identified the circumstances under which simple and complex skills can quickly deteriorate (Part 1). We then detailed our assessment of police training...Read More
Training for the Real-World The law enforcement profession has long been characterized by highly specialized education and training requirements. Society’s expectation that police effectively develop, maintain, and update their skills echoes the profession’s own commitment to never-ending improvement. To determine how well these expectations were being met, and to identify promising practices for training excellence,...Read More
Part 3 of 4 | View Part 1 & Part 2 The 2015 Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing recommended federal funding “to promote consistent standards for high quality training” and to “develop rigorous training practices, evaluation, and development of curricula based on evidence-based practices.” To date, nothing has been developed regarding academy training. ...Read More
Part 2 of 4 | View Part 1 CHALLENGE The very first Force Science study on force training was commissioned to assess “use of force training” by a national police agency. The agency sought Force Science’s expertise on a comparison of arrest and control training programs in three countries (Canada, United States, and United Kingdom)...Read More
Do We Train to Assure Officer Success… or to “Check the Box?” Part 1 of 4 The average U.S. law enforcement department spends approximately one hundred thousand dollars, from application to academy graduation, preparing officers for the multiple demands they will face on a daily basis while working the street. They must know everything from...Read More
