ABSTRACT

Law enforcement officers across the country are trained in various tactics and techniques intended to increase the overall safety within a police-citizen contact. One common, albeit controversial tactic is referred to as “curb sitting”. The curb-sitting tactic is generally associated with officers requiring criminal suspects to sit on a curb with their legs outstretched in front of them. The tactic is believed to provide officers additional reaction time to defend themselves from an attack but is also considered unnecessarily demeaning. The efficacy of the curb-sitting tactic has not previously been determined. The current study is the first to evaluate three common variations of the curb-sitting tactic to determine which, if any seated position allowed officers more time to respond to an attack when compared to a subject standing five feet away. Our results show that a seated subject with their legs extended is associated with a significant increase in time to cross five feet when compared to a standing subject. Based on these results, the curb-sitting tactic appears to be an evidence-based method of increasing an officer’s time to respond to an attack. Implications for law enforcement training and tactics, as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.

摘要

全国各地的执法人员都接受了各种策略和技术的培训，旨在提高警民接触的整体安全性。一种常见但有争议的策略被称为“路边坐”。路边坐战术通常与警察要求犯罪嫌疑人坐在路边，双腿伸直在他们面前有关。这种策略被认为可以为军官提供额外的反应时间来保护自己免受攻击，但也被认为是不必要的贬低。之前尚未确定路边坐策略的功效。目前的研究首次评估了路边坐姿的三种常见变体，以确定与站在五英尺外的受试者相比，哪种坐姿（如果有的话）可以让警官有更多时间对袭击做出反应。我们的结果表明，与站立的受试者相比，坐着的受试者的双腿伸展与穿过五英尺的时间显着增加有关。根据这些结果，坐在路边的策略似乎是一种基于证据的方法，可以增加警官对袭击做出反应的时间。讨论了对执法培训和战术的影响，以及对未来研究的建议。