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The physical competence test of the Dutch National Police

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The physical competence test of the Dutch National Police

the effects of wearing a police uniform on test performance


Beschrijving

In this study, we investigated the effects of wearing a police uniform and gear on officers’ performance during the Physical Competence Test (PCT) of the Dutch National Police. In a counterbalanced within-subjects design, twenty-seven police officers performed the PCT twice, once wearing sportswear and once wearing a police uniform. The results showed clear indications that wearing a police uniform influenced the performance on the PCT. Participants were on average 14 seconds slower in a police uniform than in sportswear. Furthermore, performing the test in uniform was accompanied by higher RPE-scores and total physiological load. It seems that wearing a police uniform during the test diminishes the discrepancy between physical fitness needed to pass the simulated police tasks in the PCT and the job-specific physical fitness that is required during daily police work. This suggests that wearing a police uniform during the test will increase the representativeness of the testing environment for the work field.



Publicatiedatum
Materiaalsoort
Artikel
Type
Document
Gebruiksrecht
CC BY NC NDCC BY NC NDCC BY NC NDCC BY NC ND
Toegangsrecht
OpenAccess
Gepubliceerd in

Police Practice and Research, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 264-278

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