Part 1 of a 2-part series What helps and what hurts after a fatal shooting? Nobody knows better than officers who’ve been there. Recently a panel of 6 survivors of shootings in Wisconsin, along with 2 instructors who’ve collectively been involved in the aftermath of dozens of deadly police encounters, spoke their mind on the...Read More
Fascinating experiments by 2 California researchers show that young civilians who might someday be on an OIS jury overwhelmingly disagree with veteran officers about when police are justified in shooting armed, threatening perpetrators. Interestingly, tests also reveal that when facing shoot/don’t shoot decisions of their own, civilians tend to be quick on the trigger—and often...Read More
Editor’s note: Our strategic partner, PoliceOne.com, recently ran the following article in which Force Science Advisor Chuck Remsberg is quoted. As Chuck points out, although times are tight financially, it’s important to remember that there are some things—like training—that are crucial and necessary, regardless of economic conditions. Reputations, careers and lives can depend on it....Read More
Force Science to bring unique new research-based police driving training to a computer screen near you. A new collaboration between the Force Science Research Center and the producer of ground-breaking computerized training programs could soon radically alter the way officers learn to drive on high-speed pursuits, Code 3 calls, and conventional patrol. “The results will...Read More
Don’t have the money for a bells-and-whistles training simulator? Don’t have the time for realistic live role-playing? Despair not! If you have paper and pencils and a reality-based imagination, you can still prepare your officers to react immediately with good decisions in life-or-death crises, according to Dr. Laura Zimmerman, a research psychologist whose insights into...Read More
Part 1 of a 2-part series A high percentage of officers leave law enforcement after they’re involved in a shooting. Suspects who try to kill officers are usually drunk, drugged, or deranged. When multiple cops are in an armed confrontation, they’ll likely experience “contagion fire” and blast off a wild fusillade of rounds. In matters...Read More
A new study that measured the body-alarm reactions of officers during and after an armed encounter underscores the value of simulation training and the need for treating shooting survivors with sensitivity during OIS investigations. The study confirms that participating in a realistic training scenario can deliver close to the same emotional and physiological wallop that...Read More
The cerebral game of chess would seem to be several light years removed from the rough-and-tumble world of the street cop. But a new report on the mental processes of chess players suggests that law officers and trainers have a lot to learn from the means by which amateurs become masters of the checkered board....Read More
Initial research has been completed in a major new study that may eventually help improve police performance during high-intensity events, like shootings or life-threatening pursuits, and define what an officer can reasonably be expected to remember about such incidents afterward. A staggering amount of fresh data regarding brain activity is currently being analyzed. But already...Read More
