Research Brief
Principal Researcher(s)
Dominique Cloutier
Advisor

What do police recruits learn from acting in
scenarios?
Introduction:

Florence Daddey

Since 2016, the Justice Institute of British Columbia Police Academy
started following a new curriculum where junior recruits participate
as actors in senior recruit scenarios. The purpose of this change is to
promote learning in a competency-based educational approach. In
this research, I am exploring the possible outcomes of acting in
scenarios and determining if the curriculum is effectively promoting
learning.

Research Field

The Study:

Nora Houlahan
Instructor

Police training
Program
BLES
Course
LAWS
4003

Funding Sources
N/A: Course-based
Project.

This research is composed of a qualitative data analysis; a literature
review was conducted through the JIBC library EBSCO host
database in order to find what recruits may theoretically learn from
being part of scenarios, as well as the analysis of redacted debrief
forms completed by 48 recruits from the Class 154 of the JIBC
Police Academy. I analyzed the data using the NVivo version 11.4.3
software to identify the common themes that emerged and
compared them with the literature.
Results/Findings:
Recruits are developing behavioural skills, tactical skills,
communication skills, teamwork skills and proper body positioning
from acting in scenarios, they are tacitly learning from the mistakes
and success of their senior cohort in a stress-free environment and
the knowledge and skills that they gain from acting in the scenarios
effectively contributes to the development of the key constable
competencies required for successful completion of municipal
police training at the JIBC Police Academy.
Recommendations/Conclusions:
I came to the conclusion that the new curriculum
is successfully promoting learning in a
competency-based education approach and
would recommend maintaining junior recruits to
act in scenarios.

Research Brief
Structured Abstract
Introduction: This research is analyzing the learning outcomes of police recruits gain from acting as
victims/suspect during scenarios as part of the new JIBC Police Academy curriculum implemented in
2016.

Methods: This research was conducted in qualitative approach. The researcher conducted a
literature review of Oliva, J. R. & al. (2010), Haberfeld, M.R. & al. (2012), Andersen, J. P. & al. (2016),
Stanyon, W. & al. (2014) and Rosenbaum, D. P. & al (2017) through the JIBC library EBSCO host. Ethics
approval was obtained by the Justice Institute of British Columbia Ethics Review Committee file #
JIBCER2018—04-PRLA for the researcher to analyze debrief forms completed by class 154 junior
recruits. The data was analyzed using NVivo version 11.4.3 software to identify the common themes
that emerged and the results were compared with the literature to find any correlation.

Results/Findings: Recruits are developing behavioural skills, tactical skills, communication skills,
teamwork skills and proper body positioning from acting in scenarios, role-playing training model is an
effective method for recruits to learn de-escalation skills, role-playing programs are effective to
increase behavioural skills, participating in scenarios builds teamwork and leadership skills, scenarios
are the best way to simulate stressful situations and gain the proper skills set, and simulations can help
recruits to learn how to interact and gain confidence.
Discussion: From this research, it was concluded that class 154 recruits are tacitly learning from the
mistakes and success of their senior cohort, they are greatly benefiting from acting in the scenarios,
being actors helped them to acknowledge the importance of building rapport, as well as developing
behavioural skills, tactical skills, communication skills, teamwork skills and proper body positioning
during encounters.

Practical Applications: The knowledge and skills that junior recruits gain from acting in the
scenarios of senior recruits effectively contributes development of the key constable competencies
required for successful completion of municipal police training at the JIBC Police Academy.
References:
Andersen, J. P., Pitel, M., Weerasinghe, A., & Papazoglou, K. (2016). Highly Realistic Scenario Based Training Simulates the Psychophysiology
of Real World Use of Force Encounters: Implications for Improved Police Officer Performance. Journal Of Law Enforcement, 5(4), 113.
Haberfeld M.R., Clarke C. & Sheehan D. (2012). Police Organization And Training: Innovations In Research And Practice. Policing, 7(1), 118120.doi:10.1093/police/pas051
Oliva, J. R., Morgan, R., & Compton, M. T. (2010). A Practical Overview of De-Escalation Skills in Law Enforcement: Helping Individuals in Crisis
While Reducing Police Liability and Injury. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 10(1-2), 15-29. doi:10.1080/1533258100378542
Rosenbaum, D. P., & Lawrence, D. S. (2017). Teaching procedural justice and communication skills during police–community encounters: Results
of a randomized control trial with police recruits. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 13(3), 293- 319. doi:10.1007/s11292-0179293-3
Stanyon, W., Goodman, B., & Whitehouse, M. (2014). Using simulation to educate police about mental illness: A collaborative
initiative. Gateways: International
Journal Of Community Research And Engagement, (1), 52.