A Reasonable Officer: Examining the Relationship between Stress, Training, and Performance in Use of Force Encounters

High-stress police encounters can evoke psychological and physiological stress reactions in officers, which can result in cognitive and perceptual deficits, as well as inferior performance. These effects can be particularly detrimental during a critical incident, when officers are expected to demonstrate sound judgement and proficient performance. This dissertation reports on two studies, one drawing on data from officers during active-duty and the other using an experimental scenario, to examine the relationship between stress, training, and performance in UoF encounters. Study 1 examined autonomic stress responses experienced by 64 police officers, during general duty calls for service and interactions with the public. Officer characteristics, including years of service and training profiles, were also examined to explore whether experience and training impacted cardiovascular reactivity. Study results highlight the sorts of risks that officers are routinely exposed to in the course of their duties, as well as the nature and frequency of the stress reactions experienced by officers. Study 2 assessed the performance of 122 officers during a realistic lethal force scenario to examine whether performance was affected by the officer's level of training, years of service, and stress reactivity. Results demonstrated that the scenario produced elevated heart rates, as well as perceptual and cognitive distortions, commensurate with those observed in naturalistic settings. Elevated stress was a predictor of poorer performance and increased lethal force errors. Training and years of service had complex effects on both performance and lethal force errors. The results from these two studies provide important insights into the general relationship between stress, training, and performance in UoF encounters. The findings provide LEAs with an opportunity to critically reflect on current training practices and offer a roadmap for making evidence-based improvements to training. They also provide important evidence that may inform the reasonableness standard used in courts of law by painting a realistic picture of police performance under stress given the current training available to officers. Perhaps most importantly, the research identifies a need for a concerted effort to increase police training standards and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to achieve them.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Baldwin, Simon Darrell

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2021 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2021-14909

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/42507