Does Physical Capacity Affect the Ability to Apply Use of Force?

Background

Police work has changed considerably over time. In the first half of the twentieth century, a large part of the work consisted of patrolling on foot, where officers had few technical aids at their disposal (Redlich, 1982, p. 239). Today, officers mainly patrol by car and with the aid of a variety of simplifying equipment, making a larger part of everyday police work sedentary (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 27; Brown & Bonneau, 1995, p. 158; Hälsohögskolan, 2013, p. 17). Still, modern police work is a physically demanding occupation, and several researchers have highlighted the overall physical skills, and physical work requirements, that officers need to uphold, and cope with, respectively. Shephard & Bonneau (2002, p. 277) state that officers need to have abilities such as mobility, strength, and endurance to be able to do their job. Anderson et al. (2001, p. 26) argue that police work primarily includes activities such as standing, walking, running, climbing stairs, as well as physical inspection and handling (pushing, pulling, bending, lifting, and carrying) of individuals. Other researchers describe the core physical activities that officers need to carry out as running, jumping, crawling, jumping, climbing, lifting, carrying, dragging, pulling, pushing, balancing, and fighting (Bisset et al., 2012, p. 217 and 160).

Most studies that have explored physical requirements of police work highlight many of the same physical activities as most prominent. These activities may require from light to maximum effort in terms of strength and cardiovascular fitness, and where muscle endurance, jumping power and speed are disclosed as important underlying factors behind the performance ability (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 18; Lagestad & Tillaar 2014a, p. 1394; Marins et al. 2018, p. 27; Strating et al., 2010, p. 256). Anderson et al. (2001, p. 27) also point out that the physical requirements are the same for every patrolling police officer. They therefore argue that all operative officers, regardless of age, should be able to carry out the physically demanding tasks of policing in a satisfactory manner.

To ensure that upcoming police officers (police recruits/students) are physically capable of working as fully-fledged police officers, several police forces and police educational institutions are monitoring the physical capacity of the recruits/students. This is also done in the Nordic context, e.g., Lagestad et al. (2014b) and Dillern et al. (2014a). Many of the test batteries, which police recruits/students, are exposed to, aim to test maximal strength, power, strength endurance, and cardiac capacity (Marins et al., 2019: p. 12). Relationships between such general physical attributes and more comprehensive and work-specific tests of physical exertion have also been shown to exist (Beck et al., 2015, p. 2340; Lockie et al., 2018; Stanish et al., 1999, p. 669).

The physical work challenges to which police officers are exposed varies. Some of the tasks can be extremely demanding and thus requiring up to maximum physical exertion. When a situation like this occurs, the officerʼs physical capability surfaces as an important parameter to ensure the optimal solution of the task at hand, and for this reason, it becomes crucial for the safety of all parts involved (Lagestad, 2012, p. 59). A demanding work task of such character is the handling of an intractable subject during an arrest (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 18; Arvey et al., 1992, p. 998; Bisset et al., 2012, p. 208; Dillern et al., 2014b, p. 2; Hansen, 2017, p. 67; Lagestad 2012, p. 330; Silk et al., 2018). The severity of such incidents is described in a survey, where Anderson et al. (2001, p. 20) found that approximately 73 % of the responding police officers reported that they had to exert up to a maximum effort in order to for example “wrestle” with a person, or use a takedown technique, during an arrest.

Bisset et al. (2012, p. 208) report that US police officers in 21–27% of all arrests use some form of physical force. This high percentage may be affected by the broad definition of physical force applied in these studies, among other things including handcuffing a person and holding a person by the arm. Another US study reported that police officers faced situations where they had to use a baton or to pull, push, hold or carry subjects, such as an intractable subject, approximately once a month (Arvey et al., 1992, p. 998). Norwegian researchers, on the other hand, have used a narrower definition only including arrests in which police officers are compelled to take down and gain control over an intractable subject. Consequently, within those frames, the frequency of use of force during an arrest is lowered (Dillern et al., 2014b, p. 2; Henriksen, 2020, p. 9 and 13; Lagestad 2012, p. 330). In Denmark, Hansen (2017), in his master thesis, examined the frequency of physical force and self-defense in connection with police tasks that involved contact with citizens. After a six-month internship, 89 police students reported that use of force was necessary for 5–10% of the tasks they were assigned to (p. 67).

Situations where police officers need to use physical force to get control over an intractable subject hence occur regularly, and it is thus important to clarify which physical characteristics that are essential in the handling of such incidences. Some studies have sought to examine this relationship in specific. Greenberg & Berger (1983, p. 809) developed a test method in which they tried to predict the probability that a police officer would be able to catch and control an intractable subject. The researchers found a positive association between the officerʼs physical capability and his or her handling of the intractable subject. Arvey et al. (1992, p. 1001) also found positive relationships between police officersʼ physical capacity, measured among other things by various strength and running tests, and their performance in measures of specific physical work requirements.

Hence, there seems to be a relationship between police officerʼs general physical ability and their ability to cope with occupation-specific demands of physical exertion. However, there are only a few international studies, and until now no Danish, that provide a specific focus on the connection between a police officerʼs/studentʼs physical capacity and their performance in a situation that requires use of force, such as the arrest of an intractable subject. It is our hypothesis, that the physical capacity of a police officer affects his or her performance in such a situation, which is why this study aims to examine how the Danish police studentsʼ physical capacity, measured using a Physical Fitness Test (PFT), affects their ability to apply use of force and use of force techniques in an arrest simulation test. Further, due to the nature of the arrest-handling situation we also hypothesized that the participantsʼ strength and power capacities would have a stronger relationship with the arrest simulation test compared to their cardiovascular capacity.

2. Methods

3 Main analyses and results

4. Discussion

To explore the relationship between police officersʼ general physical ability and their ability to cope with occupation-specific demands of physical exertion this study examined how the Danish police studentsʼ physical capacity, measured using the Physical Fitness Test (PFT), affected their ability to apply use of force in an arrest simulation test. Both bivariate correlations and a multiple regression analysis revealed that significant relationships exist. Hence, the better result a student had obtained in the PFT, the greater the probability that the student also had obtained good test results in the use of force and arrest simulation test. In the regression analysis, we found a significant equation with F (5, 646) = 29.74, with an R2 of .187 (p = 0.000). When looking at the individual elements of the PFT, we find that especially the performance in 2000-meter rowing on an ergometer, Broad Jump, and Pull-Ups affected the result in the use of force test positively. In regard to the Bivariate correlations our results revealed that Broad Jump (Pearson = 0.38 and p = 0.000), Bench Press KG (Pearson = 0.29 and p = 0.000) and 2000-meters ergometer rowing (Pearson = 0.36 and p = 0.000) was positively related with the use of force and arrest simulation test. Thus, to some extent the findings contradict our hypothesis that the studentsʼ strength and power capacities would have a stronger relationship with the arrest simulation test compared to cardiovascular capacity. Nevertheless, when looking at the individual elements of the PFT, we find that especially the performance results in 2000-meter rowing on an ergometer, Broad Jump, and Pull-Ups affected the result in the use of force test positively. Such a connection between physical capacity and performance in various occupationally relevant tests for police officers has been reported previously (Arvey et al., 1992 p. 997; Greenberg & Berger 1983, p. 809; Lockie et al., 2018; Marins et al., 2018, p. 26). In a study by Wilmore and Davis (1979, p. 33) positive correlations (0.57-0.68) were found between police officerʼs general physical capability and their performance in a pursuit – arrest simulation test. When comparing the results of these two studies one, however, needs to take into consideration that Wilmore and Davis, in their simulation of force usage, used an instrument that the police officers had to push and drag and not a real person.

Arvey et al. (1992, p. 999) examined the connection between police officersʼ physical performance and the officersʼ physical job performance. A comprehensive test battery consisting of a 60 meters sprint, lifting and dragging a 54.4 kg dummy a distance of 15 meters, a pursuit and passage obstacle course, grip strength, the maximum number of sit-ups in 1 minute, the maximum number of bench dips in 1 minute, 2400 meters running test and dummy wrestling with a 36 kg dummy was applied. Afterwards they found that the officersʼ performance in the physical tests correlated with the performance in the occupationally specific tests. Greenberg & Bergerʼs (1983, p. 809) research also found a correlation between physical capacity and an individualʼs performance in a combat-like situation. The physical tests conducted were maximum strength in bench press, strength endurance in a vertical pull to the chest from a sitting position, leg press, and grip strength. However, when comparing these results with ours one has to take into account that Greenberg & Bergerʼs combat test was set up as a competition and not as an arrest situation.

A study by Dillern et al. (2014b), for the first time, attempted to examine the relationship between police studentsʼ general level of physical fitness and their performance in an arrest-simulating situation where they had to struggle with a real intractable person. A number of police students from the Norwegian Police University College completed a physical test battery, which included one RM Bench Press, the maximum number of Pull-Ups, Broad Jump, and 3000 meters running test. Subsequently, they performed the arrest-simulation test and when comparing the studentsʼ general physical fitness (an index) with their performance in the more occupational-specific task of force usage Dillern et al. found an R of 0.57, indicating a large correlation. A methodical difference between the study conducted in Norway and the present one is that the attacks from the perpetrators in the various test sessions in our study to a greater extent varied in randomness, intensity, and character compared to in the Norwegian study. In this way, the present students, more extensively than the Norwegians, were required to read the situations and to choose the right intensity in their use of force, as well as the appropriate means of force, tactics, and techniques from the curriculum (Terrill 2003, p. 57f.). This may have increased the complexity of the arrest simulation, thereby making it more representative of possible real-life situations (Staller et al., 2017, p. 73).

This unpredictability in our arrest-simulation test is a vital point. In real-life situations that involve use of force, it is not possible accurately to predict the action and reactions, e.g., the amount of resistance applied, of an intractable perpetrator. According to Anderson et al. (2001), the police officer may experience that the perpetrator chooses to hit, push or wrestle with him or her. In an attempt to defend him/herself and gain control of the person, the police officer will therefore often have to be able to push, pull and possibly wrestle the person with high intensity. In our study, we have however tried to design the use of force test to be as realistic as possible. The relationship we have found must thus reveal that energy demands and muscular activity in the arrest simulation test, to some extent, must be similar to within the PFT. This is perhaps, though, somewhat unexpected since muscular adaptations developed through physical training (e.g., weight training) are very movement-specific (Raastad et al., 2010; Rønnestad et al., 2007, pp.157–163). We can thus assume that the current physical tests, as well as other physical test batteries applied in similar studies, manage to uncover some general underlying physiological attributes that are prominent in a highly stressful physical work situation, such as when handling an intractable person during an arrest.

The PFT contains elements that seek to clarify the police officerʼs physical capacity by measuring the upper bodyʼs pull/push strength, the lower bodyʼs strength and power development, and the cardiac capacity. The focal point of the Pull-Up test is the officerʼs upper back and arm muscles (e.g., M. Latissimus Dorsi). Our results from the regression analysis revealed that Pull-Ups affected the arrest score positively. This was however not found in the bivariate correlations implying that there might be other confounding variables (e.g., 2000-meter rowing) influencing the association. Nevertheless, a review by Herrador-Colmenero, Fernándes-Vicente & Ruiz (2014, p. 3) found that Pull-Ups were one of the most commonly used test elements in various military, emergency, and police organizations. Pull-Ups require strong and enduring upper back muscles and demonstrate the police officerʼs ability to pull/lift his/her body-weight and his/her grip strength. Other studies have also found that Pull-Ups positively correlates with the subjectsʼ performance in work-related tests (Tomislov et al., 2007, p. 453; Williford et al., 1999, p. 1179).

The focal point of the Bench Press is the upper bodyʼs ability to push an external weight away from the body. In the Bench Press, especially the push muscles of the upper body (e.g., M. Pectoralis Major) are in focus. Strong and enduring push muscles in the upper body are shown as advantageous, and it has been established that tests of the maximum number of Push-Ups, Bench Press to the point of exhaustion and/or 1RM are good indicators of a police officerʼs ability to perform, in highly demanding work situations (Beck et al., 2015, p. 2347; Stanish et al., 1999, p. 670 and Lockie et al., 2018). Our bivariate correlations reveal a significant correlation between the Bench Press exercise and the studentʼs performance in the use of force test. However, in the multiple regression analysis, this correlation is absent. Apparently, there are other relationships between the variables from the PFT (e.g., Bench Press and Broad Jump), that come to play, and which may be a plausible explanation for these findings.

Broad Jump requires strong and powerful leg and core muscles, where especially the leg muscles (e.g., M. Quadriceps Femoris and M. Gluteus Maximus) must be able to develop great power. Powerful legs can affect the officersʼ ability to accelerate, jump and move around. It can contribute positively in situations where he or she has to lift or carry external loads and/or during power transfers, such as when pushing and dragging an intractable perpetrator (Dillern et al., 2014b, p. 6; Orr et al., 2019, p. 1001; Nimphius et al., 2010, p. 885). Other studies have also found that the length of the Broad Jump positively correlates with the subjectsʼ performance in work-related tests (Michaelides et al., 2011, p. 956; Moreno et al., 2019, p. 956; Orr et al., 2016; Soroka & Sawicki, 2014, p. 498; Teixeira et al., 2019, p. 163). These studies have also indicated that Broad Jump and a horizontal movement pattern may have a stronger correlation to more occupational-specific horizontal movement patterns than standing high jump with a vertical direction of movement.

The police studentsʼ general physical strength and explosive-power thus affect their performance during the arrest simulation test. In a recently published study, it was found that strength and power were the most important parameters in relation to a successful task performance for special patrols (SWAT) (Davis et al., 2016, p. 3242). The same was also emphasized by Arvey et al. (1992, p. 1004) who deemed the strength of police officers as more important than their cardiac capacity and strength endurance. The same focus on strength capacity was also seen in an Australian study, where police officers, among other things, had to assess the importance, frequency, and strain of their work tasks (Silk et al., 2018, p. 201). Further, in a US study of firefighters, department applicants were tested in strength, cardiovascular fitness, and various occupationally relevant tasks that focused on situations that involved great physical strain. The applicants from the bottom 25% of the physical capacity evaluation showed the lowest results in the occupationally relevant tests (Tomislov et al., 2007, pp. 449 and 458). The results also revealed that the strength tests to a higher degree than the cardiovascular tests positively predicted good results in the occupationally relevant tests (pp. 453 and 455).

The apparent low impact of endurance on the measures of more occupational relevant tasks and skills cannot be confirmed immediately by our findings, since the studentsʼ performance in rowing significantly relates to the use of force test. An explanation for this positive relationship may be the duration of our arrest simulation test (approximately 60 minutes). Within this period, the students take turns being tested, but they also have to act as partners or perpetrators intermittently. In this way, the time span of the test may result in an increased demand on the studentsʼ cardiac capacity. At the same time, the duration of the test may prove to make the test more representative of a real-life situation as opposed to a test with a more compressed and shorter total time span. Situations that involve use of force are most often characterized by short, but very intense sequences. However, it has been emphasized that the transport to the situation, the handling, and off-site transfer of the perpetrator(s) is rarely completed in a short time, but on the contrary, something that can take up to 60 minutes to finish, where the actual use of force situation lasts between 2–29 minutes (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 20).

A high level of cardiovascular fitness may help the police officer to handle an intractable subject for a longer period of time without putting too much strain on the circulatory system. The ability to focus and think clearly is often impaired when a person is put under a great amount of physical stress. A police officer with a high cardiac capacity, all things considered, will thus experience a deterioration of mental abilities at a later stage than a police officer with a lesser cardiac capacity (Roberts & Cole, 2013, pp. 479 f.). In this way, the rowing test also indicates whether the police officer has the ability to focus and concentrate in a tense situation for a longer period, and how the officer perceives longer periods of exposure to high mental and physical stress (Tuch et al., 2016, p. 4).

5. Conclusion

Police work is a challenging occupation where officers need to cope with a diversity of physical demands. To meet these demands the officers need to uphold some levels of physical fitness. Some of these demands are of extreme character and require up to maximum physical exertion to handle. Such an extreme demand is the handling of an intractable subject during an arrest. In the present study, the relationship between upcoming police officersʼ (police students) physical capacities and their ability to use force and use of force techniques during an arrest simulation test was explored. The results revealed that police students with a higher physical capacity performed better in the handling of an intractable subject, compared to those with lower physical capacity. The greater the cardiovascular capacity of the police student, and the stronger he/she is, the greater the work tasks he/she will be able to carry out, before technical, tactical, physical, and mental abilities are reduced to a level that may negatively impact on the quality of the solution of the task. This study supports current praxis at the Danish National Police College to use resources on providing the students with a physical education with the aim of improving their current physical capacity, but also of enabling them to continuously maintain and improve their physical performance in the future, thereby increasing the possibility of optimal task solutions.