An Evaluation of Light Positioning on Suspect Accuracy in Low Light Environments

Abstract

Police are sometimes required to conduct searches for hostile suspects or clear a building when an alarm sounds. These searches often times occur in low light conditions. Police will routinely use a flashlight to help with the search. This study evaluates three of the most commonly taught flashlight tactics to assess if any can reduce the likelihood of a police officer being shot by a hostile suspect. The study utilized a randomized controlled trial (n = 236) with random assignment to three test conditions. Ultimately, the study found the Dagger technique reduced the likelihood that participants playing the role of a hostile suspect would successfully shoot the officer in a controlled setting. This finding can directly impact how police officers are trained to operate in low light settings.

Keywords:

• Tactics evaluation
• policing
• low light

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. Pete Blair

J. Pete Blair is the Executive Director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University. Dr. Blair's research has focused on activeshooter events, police tactics, and deception detection. His research has resulted in journal publications and books. Dr. Blair has been invited to speak on active shooter events and police tactics by groups across the USA and internationally.

M. Hunter Martaindale

M. Hunter Martaindale is the Director of Research at the ALERRT Center at Texas State University. Dr. Martaindale has published multiple reports, articles, and a book on active shooter events and law enforcement tactics. Additionally, he has presented findings from his research across the nation.

Emily D. Spivey

Emily D. Spivey is a Doctoral Research Assistant at the ALERRT Center. Through her work at the ALERRT Center, she has facilitated the collection and coding of data as part of largescale projects involving research into active shooters.