EP 14 "Engineering Resilience into Split-Second Shoot / No Shoot Decision Making” with Dr Paul Taylor.

Law enforcement officers are often faced with having to make critical shoot or no shoot decisions in rapidly occurring, ambiguous and high-consequence environments. The potential consequences of a decision-making error involving the use of lethal force carries serious implications. What rolecan training play in helping to develop more accurate decision making?

In this interview Dr. Taylor explains that his study,  ‘Engineering Resilience into Split-Second Shoot / No Shoot Decision Making’ which was published in Police Quarterly, was driven by the need to improve decision-making in the split-second environments that police officers face during potential deadly force encounters. He discusses how the study examined the impact of muzzle position on officer response time to legitimate threats and the likelihood of misdiagnosis shooting errors when no threat was present.

Topics discussed in this podcast include the importance of accurate decision-making skills in law enforcement, the role of improved judgment and tactical capability among officers, and how does an officers muzzle position impact the accuracy of decision making

This interview contains practical insights on how engineering resilience into split-second decision-making environments through factors like muzzle position, officers can improve their decision-making and reduce the likelihood of misdiagnosis shooting errors. Additionally, Paul discusses how continued research into other factors that may affect officer decision-making in these environments is necessary to improve law enforcement training.