Involuntary Firearms Discharges in Special Forces Police: The Influence of Ambiguous Circumstances and Firearm Procedures

Abstract

The risk factors for involuntary firearms discharges (IFDs) by police special forces are not well understood. IFDs that have occurred operationally suggest that the stressful and unpredictable situations that police officers routinely face may be one such risk factor for an IFD. While previous research has reported IFDs in high threat situations, the influence of these situations on the risk of IFDs remains unclear. This thesis experimentally manipulated the situational characteristics of high threat shooting decisions to determine how they affect the chance of an IFD. Additionally, two commonly adopted firearms procedures were used to test whether they offer any protection against the risk of IFDs. In collaboration with the Netherlands Police special forces, Dienst Speciale Interventies (DSI), officers were exposed to ambiguous and stressful shooting scenarios designed to interfere with their cognitive processing and subsequently trigger IFDs. Officers performed the scenarios using both the Sul and holster procedure as their trigger finger movements and shooting decisions were observed. Results showed that under ambiguous circumstances, officers committed more risky shooting-related behaviours that brought them closer to an IFD. Further, the holster procedure offered better protection against IFDs compared to the Sul procedure, so long as the officer’s kept their firearm holstered until a decision to shoot had been made. Police practitioners should be aware that despite being highly trained, special forces police commit risky shooting-related behaviours that expose themselves and others to an IFD in shooting situations.