Experience-Dependent Effects to Situational Awareness in Police Officers: An Eye Tracking Study

Police work requires making suitable observations which form the basis of situational awareness (SA) of the encounter in progress. Incomplete early-stage SA (i.e., perception) can lead to errors in subsequent judgement and decision-making that can have severe consequences for performance, learning,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-04, Vol.19 (9), p.5047
Main Authors: Huhta, Juha-Matti, Di Nota, Paula M, Surakka, Veikko, Isokoski, Poika, Ropo, Eero
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Awareness
Deadly force
Decision making
Eye Movements
Eye-Tracking Technology
Firearms
Fixation
Humans
Occupational Health
Police
Post traumatic stress disorder
Situational awareness
Software
Students
Tactics
Teachers
Visual perception
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Summary:Police work requires making suitable observations which form the basis of situational awareness (SA) of the encounter in progress. Incomplete early-stage SA (i.e., perception) can lead to errors in subsequent judgement and decision-making that can have severe consequences for performance, learning, and occupational health. SA in police contexts is still relatively understudied and requires closer examination using objective measures. The current preliminary study aimed to measure the gaze and fixation patterns among novice and expert police officers to understand early-stage SA at different levels of professional experience. Participants included 23 novices (10 early, 13 intermediate) and 11 experienced officers and instructors in tactics and use of force. Visit duration and fixation order were measured while participants viewed various static images of staged encounters. Results showed that all participants fixated longer on targets compared to the periphery, and fixated earlier on suspects' faces compared to hands, bodies, or the environment. Further, experts fixated earlier on hands and spent less time scanning the environment than early novices. The current findings reveal eye movement patterns while officers engaged in typical police encounters. Future research can inform evidence-based police training to achieve optimal SA and minimize negative outcomes in training and operational field settings.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph19095047