Professionalization in Progress: Police Use of Force Self-Defense Training in Germany

Background: In order to equip police officers with operational skills, the police use of force (PUOF) training plays a key role. While the situation of PUOF in Germany has hardly been investigated to this day, national (Jaeger, Blatt & Bliesener, 2013) and international (Renden, Nieuwenhuys, Savelsbergh & Oudejans, 2015) data indicate problems of transfer between training and the criterion environment. The causes are mainly seen in lack of time resources as well as in questionable contents. In addition, pedagogical aspects of training design have recently been brought into a closer view following the paradigm of nonlinear pedagogy (Körner & Staller, 2017).

Aim: Against this background, the contribution presents first empirical data on the situation of PUOF self-defense training in Germany. The focus is on a) the temporal structure of the training, operationalized as the ratio of physical activity and passivity of the participants (time issue); b) the content of the training (system issue); and c) the role of pedagogy as taken from the view of PUOF coaches (pedagogy issue).

Methods: A total of 30 consecutive hours of PUOF training at the Hessian police (N= 24 participants) was observed over a period of five weeks accompanied by semi-structured interviews with PUOF coaches (N = 8). Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz, 2014).

Results: Initial data suggest that (i) POUF self-defense training is less representative (system issue) in terms of the requirements of the criterion environment and (ii) offers untapped potential for increasing participant activity and interaction within the available time frame (time issue); (iii) Pedagogy is considered by POUF Coaches as an important resource, while being structurally and practically neglected within their education (pedagogy issue).

Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the results, the presentation recommends (i) the implementation of the representative learning design model for PUOF training and (ii) highlights the hitherto under-researched importance of high-quality partner interactions within the available time frame. Finally, (iii) the role of pedagogy is being embedded and discussed in a broader context of the professionalization of PUOF self-defense training in Germany.

References:

Jaeger, J., Klatt, T., & Bliesener, T. (2013). NRW-Studie: Gewalt gegen Polizeibeamtinnen und Polizeibeamte. Kiel: Institut für Psychologie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität.

Körner, S. & Staller, M. (2017). From system to pedagogy. Towards a nonlinear pedagogy of self defense in the police and the civilian domain. Security Journal 40 (3), 1-15. doi.org/10.1057/s41284-017-0122-1

Kuckartz, U. (2014). Qualitative Content Analysis. A Guide to Methods, Practice & Using Software. Sage Publications.doi.org/10.4135/9781446288719

Renden, P. G., Nieuwenhuys, A., Savelsbergh, G. J. P., & Oudejans, R. R. D. (2015). Dutch police officers` preparation and performance of their arrest and self-defence skills: A questionnaire study. Applied Ergonomics, 49(c), 8–17. doi.org./10.1016/j.apergo.2015.01.002