A new training approach to complex decision making for police officers in potentially dangerous interventions

This article outlines the development and first empirical test of a new tra ining approach to complex decision making of police officers in potentially dangerous situations. The program was developed for the Belgian Gendarmery in response to institutional changes reflecting an increased emphasis on s afe interventions in the management of violence. It incorporates theoretica l approaches to the training of decision expertise found within cognitive p sychology. Twenty-four police officers, with moderate experience, participa ted in one of four training programs (ten hours each). Decision and interve ntion skills were assessed pre- and posttraining through the use of slide a nd video simulations of real world intervention situations. The four traini ng groups included: (1) classic training, (2) slide simulation training, (3 ) video simulation training, and (4) slide + video simulation training. Bef ore training, officers took on average tell preventive actions To resolve s ituations. After training, the video-trained group increased to sixty preve ntive actions. Despite increased resolution skill, shooting efficiency rema ined low in all groups. Several recommendations have been made for the opti mization of complex decision training with regard to the type and frequency of training as well as performance assessment. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.