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
The demand for evidence-based policing continues to create unprecedented opportunities to develop and improve professional policing standards. In support of this mission, the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) reached out to Dr. Bill Lewinski and the Force Science Institute for the latest research in police skill development and decision-making....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
A Force Science research team has completed an update of its ongoing analysis of unintentional firearms discharges by LEOs in the US and Canada. We reported on the initial phase of the team’s work in a previous Force Science News, when the researchers had studied 137 UD occurrences. Now 171 additional instances have been analyzed,...Read More
A recent webinar on the hot question of whether officers should be allowed to review body cam video before giving statements on use-of-force incidents features a spirited clash of opinions among two law enforcement lawyers and a forensics expert, but in the end offers agreement on two critical points: To avoid potentially damaging pitfalls, officers...Read More
With his new book Building Shooters, firearms guru Dustin Salomon promises to reveal a novel and highly effective approach to teaching gun skills, based on practical principles of neuroscience and designed specifically for armed professionals who do not have access to enough time, ammunition, special facilities, training packages, or resources. In the opinion of Dr....Read More
In a close up gunfight, who stands a better chance of delivering an immediately fatal shot to the head: an officer who has completed typical police firearms training or a subject who has little or no experience with a handgun? Alarmingly, according to a newly published study by the Force Science Institute, the odds lie...Read More
A new study showing that simple mental imagery can help LEOs to keep their shooting skills from deteriorating in high-threat encounters has been reported by researchers in the Netherlands. At that country’s national police academy, university scientists in the disciplines of human behavior and human movement science conducted before-and-after firearms performance tests on 66 officers....Read More
After an OIS: What 12 questions should an officer answer at the scene? Besides wound treatment, what critical benefits does he or she gain from prompt transport to a medical facility? What does an agency gain by encouraging an officer to have independent legal counsel before a detailed statement is taken? What question do cops...Read More
A “national snapshot” of in-service firearms training for municipal and county LEOs raises grave “concerns about how prepared many police officers are” for winning life-threatening encounters, according to a new report from a respected university researcher. The report also highlights post-shooting practices in many agencies that are hampering trainers’ efforts to improve their programs. After...Read More
