Postgraduate D.A. Bakiyev¹
Dr.Biol., Professor R.R. Khalfina²
Dr.Biol., Professor D.Z. Shibkova^1
1Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk
²Ufa Law Institute of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ufa

Abstract

The article presents the police officers’ psychomotor qualities profiling data versus the special shooting skills testing data. Subject to the study were the law enforcement system (LES) officers trained at Ufa Legal Institute (based in Ufa city) of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs aged 30.5±4.3 years on average (n=62). Shooting tests of the subject police officers were designed for each of them to make 4 shots for 10 seconds, with the test being rated successful if the target is at least 75% hit (by three shots out of four). Tapping Tests of the Study Group subjects showed the meaningfully lower average touch times than that of the Reference Group subjects, with the tapping frequency rates and stability rates found about the same in both of the Groups. By the nervous system types, the Study Group officers were rated as follows: 80% average type; 10% strong type; and 10% average weak type. The NS typing of the Reference Group gave the following result: 10% strong type; 40% average type; 30% average weak type; and 20% average strong type.

Keywords: shooting skills, police staff, nervous system qualities, special training, shooting practice

Background

It is a matter of common knowledge that the police performance may not be efficient enough unless the officers are highly skilful in special shooting [5]. It is also known that the professional service performance efficiency in the sector is at least 65% dependent on the general functional state of the body [4], including the shooting accuracy that is largely determined by the physiological, psycho-physiological and mental qualities and factors.

It has become traditional for modern sport physiology to apply Tapping Test for the relevant quality ratings and performance success forecasts in different sports and professions as these tests give the means to rate the main typical qualities of the human nervous system [6, 7]. We believe that modern psychometrics may be beneficial in the efforts to improve the special shooting skills of police officers.

Objective of the study was to rate the police officers’ psychomotor qualities versus their test shooting accuracy rates.

Methodology and design of the study

Subject to the study were the law enforcement system (LES) officers trained at Ufa Law Institute (based in Ufa city) of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs aged 30.5±4.3 years on average (n=62). Shooting tests of the subject police officers were designed for each of them to make 4 shots for 10 seconds, with the test rated successful if the target is at least 75% hit (by three shots out of four).

The Tapping Test was performed using “MultiPsychometer” System and generated the following data:

1) Tapping frequency rate (taps per second) viewed as the most informative indicator of the nervous system lability, i.e. the movement speed control quality;

2) Average touch time (ms) that means the time of the probe being in contact with the board;

3) Tapping stability rate (conventional units) that means the nervous system stability over the test performance time on the whole.

The study data were processed by standard statistical tools offered by “Attestat” Application Software and graphically presented and analyzed using the standard Excel spreadsheets in Microsoft Office 2010 toolkit. The data difference meaningfulness rates were obtained using the relevant standard non-parametric and parametric statistical tools including the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests.

Study results and discussion

The subject police officers were split up into the Study and Reference Groups based on the prior shooting tests, with the RG shooting accuracy being under 50% and the SG shooting accuracy making up 100%. Nervous system qualities were rated and grouped based on the Tapping Test data including both the maximal psychomotor pace rates and the general individual neurodynamic rates [6].

Given in Table 1 hereunder are the Tapping Test results of the subject police officers. The average touch time in the SG was found 10.04% lower than that in the RG (p=0.03). The average psychomotor pace (tapping frequency) rate in the SG was 3.25% higher than that in the RG (p=0.29).

Table 1. Tapping Test rates of the Study Group (SG) versus the Reference Group (RG)

Note: SG Study Group; RG Reference Group; * normal value as provided by the “MultiPsychometer” System designer

Both of the groups showed no statistically significant differences in the tapping stability rates indicative of the taps balancing degree for the whole test time (see Table 1). Generally, the Study Group subjects showed the significantly lower average touch times than that of the Reference Group subjects, with the tapping frequency rates and stability rates found about the same in the Tapping Test.

Under the standard data interpretation methodology as provided by the “MultiPsychometer” System designer, the SG showed the average manipulative mobility of the dominant hand (an aggregate value of the average tapping frequency rate plus the average touch time) and the average activation rate of the nervous system (an aggregate value of the average tapping frequency rate plus the average tapping stability rate). The average touch times were interpreted as indicative of the average excitation switchover rate in the motor performance control centres. The tapping stability rates were interpreted as indicative of the endurance reserves in the fast cyclic motor actions being above the average.

The Tapping Test results of the RG were interpreted as indicative of the low manipulative mobility of the dominant hand and the low activation rate of the nervous system. The active hand travel time was notably longer than the touch time that was interpreted as characteristic of the non-optimal test performance technique due to the movements being excessively sweeping.

Furthermore, the Tapping Test is a good tool to rate the nervous system endurance and the bodily functional capacities on the whole. A motor action performance in the Tapping Test depends on the action purpose and may be semantically different that means that it may be controlled by brain structures of different levels [1].

One study [3] reports the motor performance rates of the third-year military college cadets being notably better than those of the first-year cadets, with the maximum movement pace rates and the mobilization ability rates being 12,5% (р<0.01) and 12.2% (р<0.05) higher. The special training course was reported to change the proportions of nervous system types in the cadets. The NS type proportions in first-year cadets were rated as 50% strong type; 36% average strong type; and 13% average type. By the end of the second academic year the NS type proportions were reported to change to 63% strong type; 33% average strong type; and 4% average type.

Our study data given in Table 2 hereunder made it possible to rate the SG by nervous system types as follows: 10% strong type; 80% average type; and 10% average weak type. The RG nervous system types were rated as follows: 30% average weak type; 40% average type; 10% strong type; and 20% average strong type.

The study data reported by M.N. Ilyin [4] showed the maximal motor action frequencies being typical for the people with week or average weak nervous system types – in contrast to the people with average nervous system type that showed minimum frequency rates (it should be noted that maximum movement pace rates were fixed in the first 5 seconds of the tests in all the subjects).

In our tests, the officers with strong nervous systems showed the maximum tapping frequencies similar to those of the officers with average weak NS; albeit their (strong NS) maximal values were reached in the second 5-s interval.

Table 2. Nervous system typing rates of the subject police officers

A few authors reported that special practices help increase the pace-specific individual abilities through certain central/ peripheral NS performance realignments that raise the nervous process mobility rates [2, 8].

Conclusions

It is the shooting skills that are rated highly important for the professional qualities and careers of police officers. Studies designed to explore and rate the individual nervous system types may be beneficial for the training process programming on an individualized basis for the shooting accuracy improvement.

The study was performed under the Research Project “Studies of the integrative process regularities in the central nervous system in education and professional environments” (Reg. #2669) on the relevant State Order for research projects in the higher educational system under control of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.

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Corresponding author: riga23@mail.ru