September 28, 2024

Defensive tactics training: What works?

PERF members,

Over the past two decades, PERF has done extensive work on use-of-force training and policy, including our guidelines on electronic control weapons, our 30 guiding principles on use of force, and our Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training. Throughout this work, we’ve emphasized the importance of deescalating situations to avoid using force whenever possible. But we know that there are times when officers need to go “hands on” and use physical force to bring someone under control. Those situations can present an acute risk of injuries to officers and subjects. And, even when handled appropriately, use of physical force often comes across poorly to the public on an officer’s body-worn camera footage. As former NYPD first deputy commissioner, Miami police chief, and Philadelphia police commissioner John Timoney used to say, it never looks good when someone doesn’t want to be arrested. 

To help address those hands-on situations, I wrote to you last week about our latest use-of-force work: new guidance on reducing restraint-related deaths. While that publication does not delve into the specifics of how police should restrain, we did include a sidebar mentioning that some agencies are exploring defensive tactics training that uses the principles of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). We closed that section by writing, “However, the national discussion about the best way to restrain people, especially those who are violently resisting, lacks empirical evidence showing that agencies employing certain techniques have actually reduced their use of force-related injuries. Hopefully, this type of independently measured, data-driven evidence will be forthcoming and can further advance the field.”

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s Basic Recruit Class 23-01 was the first class to have studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as part of their curriculum at the police training academy. Source: Instagram

In the week since, PERF received the good news that we will have the opportunity to provide some of that independent evidence. This week, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) announced that we have received a major grant to study the implementation of BJJ training in the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD).

The study will continue a partnership between PERF and CSPD. In 2023, CSPD retained PERF to review its use-of-force policy and training. In a report presented to CSPD this week, PERF outlined over 60 key recommendations covering use of force, crisis response, and procedural justice. Among those recommendations was the need to improve defensive tactics training, which was identified as a top priority by officers during PERF’s review.

What is BJJ?

Police defensive tactics often train officers to use strikes to control an uncompliant subject. However, repeatedly kicking or punching a subject is often ineffective, can result in serious injuries to officers and subjects, and is often viewed negatively by members of the public. BJJ is a martial art that uses leverage-based tactics, potentially offering a safer and more effective approach to commonly trained striking tactics.

Kimball (WY) Police Chief Jose Ruiz recently attended a C4C jiu-jitsu course hosted by the Laramie County Sheriff's Office. Source: Facebook

What’s the current evidence on BJJ training for police?

Interest in BJJ is growing in policing, as demonstrated by its adoption by police agencies around the country. Additionally, the New Jersey Police Training Commission recently mandated a defensive tactics training that standardizes BJJ training statewide, and the POSTs in Georgia and Colorado are considering adding police-focused BJJ to their mandatory defensive tactics training.

Only a few studies have examined the effect of BJJ training in policing, but early evidence is promising. The Marietta (GA) Police Department observed reductions in force incidents and injuries to officers and subjects after implementing BJJ training. Similarly, after officers in the Mesa (AZ) Police Department were trained in BJJ, major injuries to officers and citizens decreased.

The strongest evidence to support BJJ training to date comes from a retrospective analysis of data from the St. Paul (MN) Police Department following their implementation of a 120-hour academy program in 2015. The study found a statistically significant 36 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents between June 2014 and May 2020. In addition, injuries to officers and subjects dropped considerably.

Jupiter (FL) Police Department officers compete in the 2024 annual Heroes Grappling Tournament, which included police, deputies, firefighters, and EMTs from across the state of Florida. Source: Facebook

What will the PERF study do?

The newly funded NIJ research that PERF and CSPD will conduct involves three main components. The first is a randomized controlled evaluation to determine whether training officers in BJJ reduces the prevalence and severity of force incidents and injuries to officers and subjects. The second component involves reviewing officers’ body-worn camera videos to ensure the officers use BJJ tactics when appropriate and evaluate the success of those tactics in obtaining subject compliance. The third component will assess officers’ perspectives toward the training.

Our mixed-methods study will offer the most rigorous and comprehensive examination of BJJ in policing to date. It will be the first to use a randomized controlled design, considered the “gold standard” in social science research, to study the effectiveness of BJJ. The study will provide strong and clear evidence as to whether BJJ training equips officers with the skills to safely and effectively resolve use-of-force encounters. The complementary review of body-worn camera video will enable an in-depth exploration of use-of-force incidents, from initial contact through event resolution, including the complex dynamics that affect officer decision-making throughout an incident.

We are grateful to NIJ for supporting this research area, which is so important to the field. And thanks to CSPD for allowing us to study this training. I’m also grateful to PERF’s Research team, particularly Research Director Meagan Cahill and Deputy Director Jeremy Barnum, and our research partners for spearheading this important work. This study has the potential to provide the policing field with an evidence-based approach to one of the greatest challenges officers face: controlling combative subjects safely and effectively.

Best,

Chuck