AbstractsComputer Science

Law enforcement officers are frequently required to make use of force decisions. When a weapon is present, a key consideration to a successful use of force decision is how quickly an officer can recognize the presence of a weapon. The current dissertation tests the efficacy of a newly developed vision-training program to improve officers’ ability to detect the presence of a gun faster and more accurately by employing the key principles of deliberate practice. A 1x2 independent groups design with random assignment to conditions was utilized to assess the effectiveness of the training program. Bayesian data analysis techniques were applied to the collected vision-based data. It was found that deliberately practicing improved participants’ ability to visually locate the item. Furthermore, participants receiving the test intervention made fewer errors than participants that received the control intervention. The future direction of the research is also explored. Advisors/Committee Members: Blair, J. Pete (advisor), Bowman, Scott (committee member), Felson, Marcus (committee member), Sanders, Beth A. (committee member).