How is it possible that forty-two officers responding to the same training scenario would show almost no consistent planning or execution? That’s what researchers from Force Science, East Carolina University, and Montclair State University found as they analyzed data from their 2023 police response study.1 Readers familiar with Force Science News will remember that the...Read More
Following the release of President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Report, body cameras were increasingly touted as a deterrent to unnecessary use of force by police.1 Discussions surrounding the role of police video often ignored video’s most intuitive benefit, that is, capturing evidence of disorderly, resistive, and criminal conduct within the community. Instead, video technology was...Read More
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
Heart rates are frequently used to measure stress levels in actual and simulated police operations.1 Understanding that increased heart rates can result from elevated stress, the question has long been whether elevated heart rates mean that decision-making and performance will suffer. By now, regular readers of Force Science News know the answer to this question....Read More
“Common sense dictates that in situations where a law enforcement officer has a suspect in their rifle sight, the officer could pull the trigger before any suspect could move a gun toward the officer or another, aim and fire.”1 Pulled from a recent legal filing, the above quote is probably a fair characterization of “common...Read More
At Force Science, we periodically hear that perception and reaction time might apply to drivers, athletes, and pilots, but it does not apply to highly trained police officers when facing lethal threats. The theory, as I understand it, is that police officers have undergone specialized training that allows them to intensely focus on an armed...Read More
Sports Scientist and Epidemiologist, Erik Hein, author of Frontline Training and expert in Danger and Violence Control for police, sat down with Force Science’s Dr. Bill Lewinski for a two-part video interview. Starting with some of Dr. Lewinski’s latest research into the startle response and police performance, the interview went on to tackle a broad...Read More
In 2013, Force Science published the “Traffic Stop Study,” in which researchers assessed the relative safety of driver-side and passenger-side approaches by officers. During the research, the officers’ reactions were observed in response to an unexpected, simulated firearm assault. Researchers were able to measure the amount of time officers from various positions alongside the car...Read More
On any given fall Saturday, Daniel Richard may be found officiating in one of fourteen historic Big Ten football stadiums. Ranging from Piscataway, New Jersey, to Lincoln, Nebraska, Daniel, a Head Line Judge, joins a team of eight officials charged with safeguarding the integrity of each game. To perform at this level, these officials must...Read More