Centro de Documentação da PJ
Analítico de Periódico
CD 341
“Should I stay or should I go” [Recurso eletrónico] : experience does not make the expert in police snap decision-making / Ricardo Tejeiro …[et al.]
Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 47, n. 4 (2024), p. 709-719
Ficheiro de 128 KB em formato PDF.
FORMAÇÃO DE PESSOAL DE POLÍCIA, ACTIVIDADE POLICIAL, ACTUAÇÃO POLICIAL, TOMADA DE DECISÃO, ESTUDO DE CASOS
Purpose – We analyse the role of subject matter experts’ experience in establishing performance benchmarks for ambiguous and unstructured police tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Participants included 156 students in the final week of their training to become commissioned officers of a police force (78.8% male, aged 21 to 54); 55.8% had previous experience as police officers, with 5–39 years of service (expert group). Participants completed an online questionnaire providing demographic data and responded to three written vignettes presenting critical high-ambiguity, timepressure, and life-threatening situations. Findings – Having prior police experience or being familiar with the situations presented in the vignettes did not impact the decisions made in two of the three vignettes. In the vignette where differences appeared, there was no clearly preferred option among the experts. Experts provided shorter and less elaborate justifications for their decisions compared to novices. Originality/value – Overall experience and personal familiarity with situations do not appear to be sufficient conditions for identifying someone as an expert in this type of tasks. Results are discussed in relation to the difference between knowing what one should do and what one does due to stress and the moral or “sacred” values prevalent in police forces.
