麻豆淫院

Training for police officers and soldiers often focuses on exceptional situations鈥攖he so-called "split second" in which everything is decided. But in practice, this does not adequately prepare them for day-to-day work.

Wendy Dorrestijn, Ph.D. student and project director at the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary, analyzed 430 real incidents and 1,250 scenario exercises, with the participation of more than 1,900 police and military personnel, spread across 12 training centers in the Netherlands and the Caribbean.

"We looked at what really happens on the streets and in trainings. What is striking is that training sessions are often focused on exceptional situations, while most of the work actually takes place in the low violence spectrum."

Dorrestijn's research shows that training participants often experience more stress than during real incidents. "That says something about how high in the violence spectrum training takes place. If you constantly confront people with extreme scenarios, you create a distorted picture of reality and unnecessarily increase mental pressure."

Action intelligence

Dorrestijn advocates a broader approach to training, in which not only the confrontation is central, but also the preparation and reflection afterwards. "Good performance actually requires switching between social and tactical skills. We call this action intelligence, and it starts before the incident. It is about recognizing signals, making a plan, and the ability to adjust that plan if the situation turns out to be different than expected. An officer or soldier who can switch gears acts more effectively and safely."

"We train the exception, instead of training basic exceptionally well. As a result, we miss that base," Dorrestijn explains. With so-called reality-based training, policemen and soldiers are taught to use ALL their skills. "If you only train on extreme force, that is also what people deploy under pressure. But if you train in three phases鈥攂efore, during and after the incident鈥攜ou create three learning moments instead of one. That increases the skill and self-confidence of professionals."

Well-trained professionals

Better training is not only important for the safety of policemen and soldiers themselves, but also for society's confidence, Dorrestijn said. The study also shows that physical and mental fitness is an important characteristic of successful performance. 麻豆淫院ically and mentally fit people with self-confidence in their own abilities deliver better results in a deployment than those who are less fit (physically or mentally). "Society is entitled to well-trained professionals. And those professionals are entitled to training that protects them from burnout, PTSD and physical risks."

Dorrestijn's research is already making an impact: the insights are being incorporated into the mandatory curriculum for trainers in police and defense. According to her, it is important that those trainers are given the space to design their training based on their own understanding, and not just on the wishes of policymakers. "Leave the content of training to the professionals. Political incidents should not determine what is trained. We need to invest in structural quality, not token policies."