In this insightful interview, human factors expert Gareth Lock discusses the critical aspects of how we should understand sense-making and decision making especially in ambiguous and high-consequence environments. The research shows that if performers have 'successful' outcome following a near-miss, then our perception of the risk is lowered and therefore we are more likely to erode vital safety margins (training, equipment, standards and policy). Gareth explores the importance of distinguishing...
Sep 23, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Shawn Myszka is a Movement Skill Acquisition Coach for NFL players, having worked with numerous All-Pro and Pro Bowl team members. He is also the Founder of the Sport Movement Skill Conference and author of articles and educational materials on mastering movement in sports. Shawn discusses the relevance and value of Bruce Lee's coaching philosophy in movement skill acquisition for law enforcement, as explored in the research paper 'Being Water: how key ideas from the practice of Bruce Lee align ...
Sep 03, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Law enforcement officers know that their mental toughness is of critical importance on the job. The ability to remain focussed and maintain emotional regulation, to overcome adversity and conflict, and even injury and pain, in order to professionally and effectively manage situations is extremely important. But how do we understand effective ways in which to intentionally and strategically incorporate mental imagery into the law enforcement training paradigm? In this interview, the third in our ...
Aug 19, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 17
This is the second episode in our exciting three-part series on the use of performance enhancement imagery to improve officers skill aquisition, decision making and mental resilience. Dr. Arne Nieuwenhuys is Senior Lecturer in Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology. He obtained his PhD from VU University Amsterdam. Dr Nieuwenhuys and colleagues published the study “Positive Effects of Police Officer Shooting Performance Under Threat in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. In this int...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 16
This part 1 of an exciting 3-part series in which we explore the effective use of performance enhancement imagery. In law enforcement it is generally accepted that officer mental toughness and mental focus is critical for great decision making and performance. Despite this, very few trainers utilize any type of formalized mental training program. In multiple other domains, the use of mental imagery instruction to increase learning, enhance performance and improve adaptive decision-making has bee...
Jul 15, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 15
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 w...
Jul 03, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 14
The prevalence and impact of recruit injuries during academy physical training is a significant issue. Recruit injuries can cause recruits to fall out of the training cadence resulting in a failure to successfully complete the academy, back-trooping and in serious cases, eliminating the recruits law enforcement employment prospects altogether. Therefore, the need for evidence-based injury prevention programs in law enforcement academies to minimize the high incidence of injuries, particularly du...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 10 min
The most important goal of police academy training is the retention and transfer of knowledge and skills. In this interview, Dr. Staci Yutzie, training manager at Oregon’s statewide public safety training academy, Department of Public Safety Training, or DPSST discusses the evidence-based, adult learning approach that was undertaken at the Center for Policing Excellence in Oregon to completely overhaul the state academy training program. Staci explains the rational to move away from the para-mil...
Jun 10, 2023•1 hr 11 min
The use of the vascular neck restraint by law enforcement officers has been the topic of recent, intense, debate. Special interest groups have equated the use of the vascular neck restraint with ‘near-death’ experiences and have called for outright bans. Policy makers have been very critical of agencies that train and permit the use of the VNR, and some agencies have been influenced by heavy political pressure to discontinue its use. All of this debate has taken place in the absence or ignorance...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 11
It is important to recognize the value of highly contextual training to equip law enforcement officers to be professional and adaptive decision-makers. However, the majority of current training practices often develop officers who lack the ability to transfer static skills into the highly dynamic operational demands that they face. In this interview, Dr. Mario Staller, professor at the University of Applied Sciences of Police and Public Administration North-Rhine Westphalia in Aachen, Germany, t...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 10
For many years, law enforcement trainers and tactical professionals have been somewhat familiar with the importance of how intentional breathing techniques can help lower physiological arousal. This is a critical concept because physiological state directly impacts emotional regulation, attention and quality of decision making. However, there has been little in the form of evidence-based research as to which types of breathing techniques are more (or less) effective in quickly reducing physiolog...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 9
All law enforcement instructors would agree that one of the core functions of police skills training is to develop great adaptive decision-making skills in our officers. The question that must be asked is, what is the relationship between instructor / coach feedback methods and the development of independent adaptive decision-making and, are there proven techniques that work better than others? In this interview, we talk with decision-making expert Dr. Joel Suss about several critical components...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this interview, Dr. Jonathan Wender from POLIS Solutions talk to the Trainer’s Bullpen about the ‘Adaptive Defensive and Protective Tactics’ (ADAPT) research report which was published in March 2022. You can download a copy of this report by going to the Trainers Bullpen website at trainersbullpen.com. This highly important research presents the current state of police control and defensive tactics training and makes twenty core recommendations that police academies, agency leaders and law en...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 3 min
In this interview Dr Paula Di Nota from the University of Toronto discusses the findings and training implications of her research review ‘Complex Motor Learning and Police Training: Applied, Cognitive, and Clinical Perspectives’ (Frontiers in Psychology; 2019). The purpose of the review was to explore pedagogical best practices to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge of human performance and best practices to consider for training complex motor skills. Ten vital aspects of the components...
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 20 min
In this interview, human performance expert Dr Rob Gray from Arizona State University and author of ‘How We Learn to Move’ and ‘Learning to Optimize Movement’ discusses the important findings of the research paper ‘Police Training Revisited – Meeting the Demands of Conflict Training in Police with an Alternative Pedagogical Approach’ (Policing; December 2020). While operational police actions place high demands on police officers, and training should be providing the skills necessary to meet tho...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 30 min
In this interview Dr Simon Baldwin from Carleton University walks us through the fascinating research study ‘A Reasonable Officer: Examining the Relationships Among Stress, Training, and Performance in a Highly Realistic Lethal Force Scenario’ (Frontiers in Psychology; January 2022). Dr Baldwin presents the findings and importantly, he addresses the critical implications for training to help build law enforcement officers who can make excellent decisions in rapidly unfolding, high consequence ev...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this interview experts in behavior analysis, police psychology, ergonomics and exercise science Dr’s John and Dawn O’Neill discuss the results of their important study ‘Police Academy Training, Performance and Learning’. The study involved an empirical analyses of training at 3 large regional police academies in the United States during the motor training of simple and complex defensive and control tactics skills. The study included an analysis of block training versus spaced training on rete...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 18 min
In this interview human performance expert Dr Rob Gray from Arizona State University and author of ‘How We Learn to Move’ and ‘Learning to Optimize Movement’ discusses the important differences between ‘linear’ (technique based) and ‘non-linear’ (ecological) motor skill training. Dr Gray helps us interpret the findings of a fascinating recent research project that explored the different performance outcomes in police knife defense training that utilized both linear and non-linear training method...
Jan 25, 2023•58 min
In this interview about motor learning principles, Dr Tim Lee (McMaster University; Department of Kinesiology) discusses an important article he wrote for The Tactical Edge magazine in the Summer 2022 Edition, in which Lee outlined several critical factors that law enforcement trainers should consider when designing and implementing motor skills training. Implementing these important aspects into training has been proven through repeated studies across multiple domains to enhance both retention ...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 29 min
