EFEITO DO ESFORÇO FÍSICO NO DESEMPENHO DE TIRO DE POLICIAIS MILITARES DO BATALHÃO DE CHOQUE

A comparison of two law enforcement marksmanship assessments

BACKGROUND

Law enforcement officers (LEO) must be confident in their ability to employ their firearm and be accurate in its application in high stress, life threatening, situations. To assess officer firearm marksmanship and training needs, police officers are assessed annually on their firearm handling and shooting accuracy. The unknown is whether different marksmanship assessments may yield different results in officer qualification rates, and measures of officer firearm comfort, confidence, and safety.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify differences in officer firearm qualification rates and perceptions of comfort, confidence, and safety in the handling of their firearms between their current Traditional Pistol Assessment (TPA) and an Alternate Pistol Assessment (APA).

METHODS

Australian LEO (male n = 8; female n = 6) consented and participated in a cross sectional, within-subjects, randomised, repeated measures study. Subjective data (e.g. perceived confidence), objective data (e.g. heart rate and breathing rate), and marksmanship qualification results were collected for both assessments.

RESULTS

Four (29%) officers passed the TPA, while seven (50%) passed the APA. While more complex, officers had greater confidence in their sidearm handling and marksmanship ability following the APA. There were no significant differences in physiological demands between the two assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

Officer firearm qualification rates are influenced by the nature of the marksmanship assessment undertaken as are their perceptions of firearm comfort, confidence, and safety when handling and firing their firearm. A firearms qualification assessment should include a variety of occupationally relevant situations (e.g. moving, shooting from behind cover, vocalisation, etc.), and consider impacts on officer firearms confidence.

Factors Influencing Marksmanship in Police Officers: A Narrative Review

Law enforcement officers routinely face unpredictable scenarios that may threaten the public, their colleagues, or themselves. In such situations, officers may be required to use firearms, with shooting accuracy becoming crucial. This literature review aimed to identify, synthesize, and report on research investigating factors that affect marksmanship in law enforcement personnel. A systematic search of seven databases was undertaken following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach. From an initial 5396 identified studies, 23 met the eligibility criteria. The key findings from these papers were: (1) physical exertion does not appear to decrease shooting performance, especially at close range (<10 m); (2) tactical load carriage does not appear to decrease shooting performance; in fact, it has been reported by officers as improving performance (likely due to training specificity); (3) the physical capability of officers may be of importance, notably grip strength, which the volume of evidence suggests is positively correlated with marksmanship; (4) anxiety imparted through high-stress scenarios negatively impacts shooting performance, but training under stress may counteract this factor, albeit for a short period. Together, these factors appear to have a trainability component where increased specific and realistic training can improve shooting accuracy, time, and precision, especially in high-stress situations.

Aerobic fitness, upper-body strength and agility predict performance on an occupational physical ability test among police officers while wearing personal protective equipment

BACKGROUND

Police institutions often use Occupational Physical Ability Tests (OPATs) as a measure of occupational performance. These tests are utilized to mimic the daily and essential tasks performed by the police officers, but few are performed with load carriage (LC). The purpose of this study was to examine the physical performance predictors of an OPAT performed without (NPPE) and with (WPPE) LC.

METHODS

Thirteen federal highway police officers (age: 36.8±3.7 years, body mass: 89±10.7 kg, height: 180±5.6 cm) volunteered to complete a battery of physical fitness tests (aerobic power and capacity, muscular endurance, lower limb power, upper limb strength, agility and anaerobic power) and anthropometrics. Occupational performance was measured by the total OPAT time consisting of 7 sequential police tasks. All subjects randomly completed the tests on both LC conditions.

RESULTS

Agility (P<0.01), lower limb power and height (P<0.05) were significantly related to performance in the NPPE OPAT. In the WPPE condition, aerobic power (absolute and relative) (P<0.01), lower limb power and agility (P<0.05). The best predictors for OPAT performance were agility (R2=0.45, P<0.01) in the NPPE condition, as well as relative aerobic power, upper limb strength and agility in the WPPE condition (R2=0.81, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Different conditions of LC have distinct occupational performance predictors. Thus, considering LC, physical exercise programs aimed at improving police occupational performance should aim at improving agility, upper limb strength and aerobic fitness.