German police recruits’ perception of skill transfer from training to the field
| Author | Mario S Staller,Andrew Abraham,Swen Koerner,Jamie Poolton,Valentina Heil |
| DOI | 10.1177/14613557211064057 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
German police recruits’perception of skill
transfer from training to the field
Mario S Staller
(Department of Police,) University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Swen Koerner
(Department of Training Pedagogy and Martial Research,) German Sports University,
Germany
Valentina Heil
(Department of Psychological Sciences,) University of Liverpool, UK
Andrew Abraham
(Carnegie School of Sport,) Leeds Beckett University, UK
Jamie Poolton
(Carnegie School of Sport,) Leeds Beckett University, UK
Abstract
In order optimally to prepare police officers for the demands in the field, police training has to be designed representatively.
However, for the German context, there is a scarcity of research investigating to what extent training meets the demands of
the field. To fill this gap, the current study examined if police training in Germany meets the field demands of police officers
based on the perspective of police recruits. Thirteen recruits from a German police force were interviewed in a semi-struc-
tured way to identify possible matches and discrepancies between training and the field. The qualitative were was analysed using
content analysis. The results revealed that recruits valued police training very positively because they were able to apply learned
skills and tactics in the field. However, results also indicated that: (a) key informational variables present in the field were miss-
ing in training, namely chaotic, highly dynamic situations; and (b) police officers need to be adaptable and flexible in the field to
cope with the demands. Finally, the results suggested that police training focuses narrowly on dealing with extreme threats,
which differs from the experiences recruits had in the field and may have drawbacks because continuously perceiving social
situations as threatening and dangerous is a risk factor for aggressive behaviour. Taken together, the current study provides
further insights into the wants and needs of recruits in police training.
Keywords
Police training, use of force training, conflict management training, operational demands, field–training gap
Submitted 29 Jun 2021, Revise received 29 Jun 2021, accepted 6 Sep 2021
Introduction
Police training is generally perceived as a very important
part of a police officer’s education for operational situations
Corresponding author:
Mario S Staller, Department of Police, University of Applied Sciences of
Police and Public Administration North Rhine-Westphalia, Aachen,
Germany.
Email: mario.staller@hspv.nrw.de
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(2) 124–136
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557211064057
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