The International Performance, Resilience and Efficiency Program Protocol for the Application of HRV Biofeedback in Applied Law Enforcement Settings.

Law enforcement officers are routinely exposed to high-threat encounters that elicit physiological stress responses that impact health, performance, and safety. Therefore, self-regulation using evidence-based approaches is a priority in police research and practice. This paper describes a five-module heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) protocol that is part of a larger resilience program (the International Performance Resilience and Efficiency Program - iPREP) established in 2014. Supported by 10 years of user-informed research and development, our methods are tailored to address occupational stressors and the practical realities of training and resource availability in operational settings. Building on existing clinical methods that comprise five to six weekly sessions and up to 40-min of daily practice, our iPREP HRVB protocol is typically delivered in a condensed format across 2-3 days and is seamlessly integrated with reality-based training scenarios commonly employed in policing. By combining best practices in clinical HRVB with police-specific pedagogical frameworks, officers receive accelerated and job-relevant training to adaptively modulate autonomic responses to acute and chronic stress. Efficacy of the iPREP HRVB protocol is supported by several research studies of various methodological designs (i.e., randomized control trial, longitudinal cohort) that demonstrate immediate and sustained improvements in police performance and physiological health outcomes. We conclude with a critical appraisal of the available empirical evidence contrasting common and emerging breathing techniques proposed for use in operational policing contexts. The critical appraisal guide is intended to serve as a resource for law enforcement agencies, governing bodies, and operators when choosing appropriate and effective self-regulation training approaches.

Physiological Responses to Organizational Stressors Among Police Managers.

Police officers demonstrate increased risk of physical and mental health conditions due to repeated and prolonged exposure to stressful occupational conditions. Occupational stress is broken into two types: operational stress, related to the content of field duties (e.g., physical demands); and organizational stress, related to cultural and structural contexts (e.g., interpersonal relationships). Applied police research focuses on physiological activation in operational tasks as a mechanism explaining health risk and non-optimal performance outcomes. However, recent survey-based studies indicate numerous organizational stressors associated with self-reported mental health symptoms. The question of whether organizational stressors elicit significant physiological activity remains unknown. The current proof-of-concept field study tests the hypothesis that police managers will display significant physiological reactivity before, during, and after engaging in reality-based scenarios representative of stressful police management tasks developed from evidence-based pedagogical approaches. A sample of 25 training police managers (7 female, M = 16 +/- 5.3 years of experience) completed 5 reality-based scenarios, including resolving a heated conflict between colleagues, delivering negative feedback to a subordinate, and critical incident command. Significant increases in heart rate relative to rest were observed during all tasks, and in anticipation of several tasks. Greater increases in reactive heart rate were associated with longer recovery times. Sex differences and relationships between objective biological and subjective psychological measures of stress are discussed. The current findings demonstrate significant physiological responses to organizational stressors similar to levels observed during operational tasks, despite the absence of physical or aerobic exertion. Implications for police health and training are discussed.

Reducing Lethal Force Errors by Modulating Police Physiology.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to test an intervention modifying officer physiology to reduce lethal force errors and improve health. METHODS: A longitudinal, within-subjects intervention study was conducted with urban front-line police officers (n = 57). The physiological intervention applied an empirically validated method of enhancing parasympathetic engagement (ie, heart rate variability biofeedback) during stressful training that required lethal force decision-making. RESULTS: Significant post-intervention reductions in lethal force errors, and in the extent and duration of autonomic arousal, were maintained across 12 months. Results at 18 months begin to return to pre-intervention levels. CONCLUSION: We provide objective evidence for a physiologically focused intervention in reducing errors in lethal force decision-making, improving health and safety for both police and the public. Results provide a timeline of skill retention, suggesting annual retraining to maintain health and safety gains.

Applying Resilience Promotion Training Among Special Forces Police Officers.

Police Special Forces (a.k.a. special weapons and tactics [SWAT]) officers are tasked with responding to the most critical situations, including incidents that require specialized skills and equipment beyond typical policing activities. In this study, we tested the feasibility of applying Arnetz and colleagues' resilience promotion training that was developed for patrol officers to SWAT team officers (n = 18). The resilience promotion training program included psychoeducation focused on police stress and resilience, and the practice of resilience promotion techniques (controlled breathing and imagery) while listening to audio-recorded critical incident scenarios. The aims of this study were to (a) examine if a resilience training program was relevant and accepted by SWAT team officers and (b) assess participants' physiological stress responses (heart rate, respiration) during the resilience training sessions to note if there were improvements in stress responding over time. Our findings revealed that participants were able to significantly reduce their average heart rate and improve their ability to engage in controlled respiration (i.e., breathing) during simulated critical incidents over the course of the 5-day training. Improvements in stress responding were observed even when the critical incident scenarios became more graphic. Results suggest that an intervention to reduce stress responses of SWAT officers to critical incident scenarios works in a simulated training setting. Translation of these findings to real-world occupational hazards is a recommended next step.