Results lay foundation for addressing impact of shift work-related fatigue on officer-public interaction
A new study led by a WSU professor found that fatigue associated with shift work influences how officers interact day-to-day during encounters with the public, which can either build or erode trust in the police.
Results show that experienced police patrol officers who worked day shifts were significantly more likely to manage simulated encounters with the public in ways that resulted in full-on cooperation—and significantly less likely to have encounters escalate into violence—when compared with officers working the other three shifts.
“Our results indicate that officers who work biologically normal day shifts perform much better than those on other shifts,” said principal investigator Bryan Vila, PhD, professor of criminal justice and criminology at WSU Spokane. “This suggests that better fatigue management might improve officers’ ability to deftly manage encounters with the public in ways that win cooperation and reduce the need for use of force.”
The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented June 12, in Denver at SLEEP 2016, the 30th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).