Differential Effects of Physiological Arousal Following Acute Stress on Police Officer Performance in a Simulated Critical Incident

Abstract

Background : Police officer response in a critical incident is often a life-or-death scenario for the officer, the suspect, and the public. Efficient and accurate decisions are necessary to ensure the safety of all involved. Under these conditions, it is important to understand the effects of physiological arousal in response to acute stress on police officer performance in critical and dangerous incidents. Prior research suggests that physiological arousal following a stressor differentially affects police performance – communication may be impaired, whereas well-rehearsed, tactical behaviors may be resilient. Objectives : In this study, we examine the differential effects of physiological arousal across three police skill domains: verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and tactical skill. Methods : A sample of Swedish police cadets ( N = 17) participated in a critical incident simulation, which was a reenactment of a real-life incident that had resulted in a police officer death; the simulation included multiple calls, dynamic environments, and surprise threats. An expert rater evaluated the cadets across multiple domains of skill, and physiological arousal was monitored by continuous heart rate monitoring and measures of circulating cortisol and antithrombin taken before and after the incident simulation. Results : The simulation increased police officer arousal, as reflected in elevated heart rate, but this alone did not predict differences in performance. Greater increase in antithrombin was associated with better general performance, but a specific deficit in verbal communication as compared to tactical performance and nonverbal communication. Change in cortisol was unrelated to the skill assessments. Conclusions : Police officer performance during a critical incident simulation is affected by physiological arousal. The findings are discussed with implications for police officer decision-making and real-world performance.

Effects of Coping-Related Traits and Psychophysiological Stress Responses on Police Recruits’ Shooting Behavior in Reality-Based Scenarios

“…However, in their study, only high-risk scenarios, but not medium-risk scenarios involved shooting tasks, whereas in the current study, even the LS scenario required shooting. sCorti followed an unexpected pattern with the highest levels 20 min after the LS scenario and thereafter, steadily decreasing, which is comparable to findings of decreasing cortisol after simulated police incidents (Strahler and Ziegert, 2015; Arble et al, 2019). Strahler and Ziegert (2015) suggested blunted cortisol responses due to long-term chronic stress as well as adaption to endocrine stress responses following frequent encounters of acute stress as possible explanations for this finding.…”

“…Additionally, previous studies suggest that psychophysiological stress responses might have differential effects on police work performance (Renden et al, 2014, 2017; Arble et al, 2019). While observational studies report a negative effect of stress on tactical behaviors such as handcuffing or arrest procedures (Renden et al, 2014), increases in physiological stress responses did not impair general police work performance, but specifically impaired verbal communication as compared to tactical performance and non-verbal communication (Arble et al, 2019). These differential effects demonstrate the complex nature of effective police work and the difficulties to define and asses ideal police performance.…”

Active Shooter Training Drill Increases Blood and Salivary Markers of Stress

“…While police work has shown to increase a number of physiological and psychological stress markers [ 8 , 9 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 18 ], to our knowledge, only one study has investigated the impact of active shooter training on markers of psychobiological stress [ 15 ]. Potentially important to note is that the active shooter training involved officers which were given different roles, and the total scenario lasted approximately 15–20 min [ 15 ].…”

“…While prior research has examined the physiological response to shoot/no-shoot scenarios by a single student recruit in non-realistic scenarios [ 14 ] or a pair of officers responding to a robbery as a team [ 18 ], and one has examined long-duration active shooter scenarios [ 15 ], none have sought to understand realistic short-duration active shooter scenarios. We aimed to fill this gap in the literature.…”

Towards systematic and objective evaluation of police officer performance in stressful situations

“…Currently, the differences between the training methods and tests used for assessing the police officer's perceptive, cognitive and motor skills in connection with a stress response are very large, and the pros and cons of the different methods used are extensively debated. Some argue, for example, that the biological stress marker heart rate is not related to performance (Eamonn, Daugherty, & Arnetz, 2019) whereas others argue the opposite (Siddle, 1995). Thus, to more conclusively examine the effects of stress on performance, research is needed that details how to measure the level of stress and how to assess objectively the effects of stress during training and test settings that include different levels of threat (Bertilsson, Fredriksson, Piledahl, Magnusson, & Fransson, 2014).…”