Force Science

Understanding Force Encounters Through Science and Research

Force Science advances expert decision-making, performance, and honest accountability in public safety. Their team of physicians, attorneys, policing experts, psychologists and human performance researchers focuses on understanding and optimizing how civilians and law enforcement make decisions and perform in high-stress situations.

LATEST ARTICLES

Patrol Issues

Study: How race, clothes and demeanor influence police officer behavior

A research team compared how behavior and visible characteristics influence whether officers escalate or de-escalate street confrontations

March 26, 2018 01:35 PM

Force Science

Study: Analyzing the stand-up speed of proned-out suspects

A proned-out suspect still presents significant potential danger and officers should remain vigilant

March 12, 2018 04:25 PM

Force Science

Evergreen

10 ways to lose police lawsuits

There are many ways police officers and agencies sabotage themselves before they walk into a civil courtroom; here’s the top 10

February 21, 2018 03:12 PM

Force Science

New court decision: Must de-escalation be tried first before force?

A three-judge appellate panel addressed issues of growing concern to street officers amid the current demands for de-escalation of force in complex encounters

October 10, 2017 05:07 PM

Force Science

Should cops see body cam video before giving use-of-force statements?

Departments must actively educate communities about the surprising realities of video footage

September 05, 2017 03:44 PM

Force Science

Use of Force

New Washington State University study: Even tired cops are more hesitant to shoot black suspects

A new study concludes that officers tend not to be biased against black suspects in resorting to deadly force, even when fatigued and thus potentially more vulnerable to making angry, irrational, and impulsive decisions

August 15, 2016 12:16 PM

Force Science

Use of Force

8 key findings from study on killing of unarmed suspects

Nearly 300 pages of the “In Context: Understanding Police Killings of Unarmed Citizens” are devoted to describing and dissecting the 153 fatalities, one by one, month by month throughout the year

June 29, 2016 12:50 AM

Force Science

CEWs and non-violent resisters: A court weighs “excessive force”

Attorney Laura Scarry says that law enforcement trainers to develop effective tactics that do not involve pain compliance for controlling subjects who are resistant, mentally ill, but not violent toward others

April 07, 2016 05:38 PM

Force Science

Officer Safety

Does voice-based technology really improve driving concentration?

Vocal interactions impose a detrimental burden on the brain that lingers on even after a given task has ended

November 30, 2015 12:50 PM

Force Science

Patrol Issues

Sudden cardiac death: Mysteries persist despite new study

As this new study shows, sudden cardiac death syndrome often has no clear pathological mechanism or no obvious anatomical or toxicological basis

November 02, 2015 01:38 PM

Force Science