Summary
"While RCMP officers must qualify annually to use their firearm in the field, research suggests that the RCMP’s Annual Firearms Qualification (AFQ) test will not be predictive of how an officer might perform in real world use of force scenarios. RCMP officers in the current study completed an Active Shooter Scenario and a series of Reaction Drills. Results confirmed that the Active Shooter Scenario was more anxiety provoking, more mentally straining, and more dependent on good communication skills, compared to the Reaction Drills. In addition, officers’ AFQ scores correlated with officer reaction speed in both the Active Shooter Scenario and the Reaction Drills, and correlated with shot accuracy only in the Reaction Drills. Other results indicated that certain officer characteristics, such as having a strong grip strength, having specialized training, and having been a firearms instructor, all related to superior performance in use of force encounters."--Abstract.