RCMP Use of Force

• Study: Stress-Activity mapping (Physiological response) - Methods

  Looked understanding officers' experience with high stress incidents

  • Surrey, BC (most common in Canada)
  • Equipped officers with HR monitors, GPS, and inertia monitoring system
  • Tracking movement was important bc wanted to track psychological stress, but Heart Rate fluctuates with physical activity
  • Followed 64 officers over 114 shifts
  • Got use-of-force reports, dispatch data and relevant training profiles
• Study: Stress-Activity mapping - Assault

  If someone were threatening people with a screwdriver @Mcdo

  • Measure speed of movement & Heart Rate across time
  • Could track someone on Google maps to see where someone was at all times throughout the shift
• Study: Stress-Activity mapping - Suicidal subject & MVA

  Officer sent on a call about young woman who was suicidal

  • Called woman over to vehicle
  • Got hit by a car as she crossed the road
  • Can see the spikes in Heart Rate throughout the call
  • Highest spike: when supervisor told officer to sit in car and not speak to anyone
  • Officer not charged, but in trouble
  • 1 hour later, dispatched to another call
• Study: Stress-Activity mapping - Measures

  Various measures:

  • Heart Rate before shift - sit & relax to get a baseline (everyone's different)
  • Max HR = highest HR reached throughout shift
  • HR peak above resting = distance btwn baseline HR and Max HR
  • Call priority level: Threat to life - routine
  • Looked at how arousal varies relative to priority levels
• Study: Stress-Activity mapping - Results: Hypotheses supported

  1. Officers’ cardiovascular reactivity increased throughout the phases of a call (e.g., from dispatch to encounter)
  2. CFS dispatched with a higher priority level (i.e., very urgent), that involved an arrest/apprehension, Use of Force, and/or a weapon being reported or accessible, resulted in officers experiencing elevated physiological arousal
• Study: Stress-Activity mapping - Results: Hypotheses Not Supported

  3. Officers with more experience (i.e., years of services) did not experience lower cardiovascular reactivity during CFS

  4. Officers with more relevant operational skills training did not experience lower cardiovascular reactivity during CFS.
• Study: Stress, training & performance - Methods

  Much the same measures as stress-activity mapping Additonal:

  • Firearms training system (weapons that fired lasers & simulated recoil)
  • Video recording devices
  • Lethal force scenario
  • Stress vest systems - register where & when an officer was hit & delivers shocks to officer
  • Eye trackers for watching footage & various scales to measure performance
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Hypotheses (4)

  1. In response to scenario, officers show elevated stress reactivity similar to those in real Use of Force scenarios.
  2. Stress reactivity will be moderated by level of police training and years of police service.
  3. Highly elevated stress reactivity will be associated with poorer performance, as operationalized by performance scales and lethal force errors
  4. Higher levels of training and experience will be associated with better performance
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Scenarios

  • Mom calling saying son is breaching parole. Officer asking questions such as address, apt #. Once you entered, hella loud music played
  • Subject is drunk & knife on table. Bystander is bf of subject who wants suspect out of there and pesters the cop. Subject threatens to kill himself/ draws a gun to shoot officer. Subject gets shot in teh end
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Stress

  Parasympathetic Nervous System (calming) inactive throughout the scene

  Sympathetic Nervous System active throughout scene
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Cognitive & Perceptual Distortions

  Most were just reacting:

  • Autopilot - 91%
  • Tunnel vision - 88%
  • Heightened visual clarity - 83%
  • Diminished sound - 70%

  Some reactions odd: fell and after did not remember falling at all // bailed and didn't realize
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Predictors of Performance

  Average score was 59%

  • For every increase in level of training, there was an 3% increase in performance --> Training improves performance
  • For every increase in years of police service, performance decreased by 0.39% --> Weird, possible bc age or complacency
  • For every one-unit increase SNS Index (stress), performance decreased by .57% --> Stress worsens performance
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Lethal Force Errors

  More than 1/4 made lethal force errors

  • 20% shot the bystander --> criminal charge in real life
  • 11.5% shot subject exhibiting self-harm behaviours

  --> Increased with stress levels, level of training & yrs of service

  -- Concerning, possible bc SWAT/experience are used to beign in situations where shooting is more likely compared to those with less experience
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Behavioural Predictors of Performance

  • Assessing the situation
  • Recognizing threat cues
  • Maintaining tactical advantage
  • Competence with intervention options
  • Verbal de-escalation & relevant de-escalation behaviours (offering help, patience, etc)
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Implications

  Under high levels of stress, performance was sub-optimal

  • With proper training, performance may improve, but deficits & lethal force errors are persistent even with training
  • It is the responsibility of governments & agencies to provide evidence-based standards & more rigorous training
  • Currently many police services identity significant barrier to providing training: funding, resources, facilities, etc
• Study: Stress, Training & Performance - Evidence-based training

  • Sufficient time & frequency
  • Focus on : assessing the situation, recognizing threat cues, maintaining tactical advantage competence with intervention options
  • Spaced Practice
  • Stress exposure training & integrate various KSAs under stressful conditions