2006 ASLET Annual Training Conference

Albuquerque, NM


  1. Presentation Title:

  2. Surviving the Nightshift: What Instructors Should Know

  3. Instructors

  • Thomas J. Aveni, MSFP

  • Mark Rosekind, PhD

  1. Focus Area – Instructor Development-Officer Survival. Seminar Format.

  2. Session Summary – This presentation will elucidate a myriad of issues that impinge upon officer survival, with specific focus on those issues associated with working shift work. Salient occupational safety and health issues will be addressed within that context.

  3. Learning Objectives – Upon completion of this session, each participant will be able to:

·         Identify how and why police are mistakenly shooting unarmed subjects.

·         Identify why nights-sights have failed to enhance hit ratios under low light conditions.

·         Identify the range of visual impairment encountered under various low light conditions.

·         Identify equipment-related issues that will best enhance occupational safety at night.

·         Identify daily troughs in the circadian rhythm cycle.

·         Identify the likely physical performance impairments associated with sleep deficit.

·         Identify likely psychological impairments associated with sleep deficit.

·         Identify the benefits of a properly structured napping policy.

·         Identify the proper usage parameters of caffeine as a fatigue counter-measure.

·         Identify those shift rotation concepts and strategies that are most beneficial and  detrimental to law enforcement officers.

  1. Methodology – This presentation will involve a team-partnered approach in a “discussion” format that will afford student interaction with instructors.

  2. Time – Two (2) 105-minute sessions (same course taught twice)

  1. Participant Items to Bring – Students should bring their own note-taking materials.

  2. Instructing Experience –

·         Tom Aveni was a staff instructor for S&W Academy for 11 years (1990-2001). During that tenure, he trained over 12,000 law enforcement officers. Tom has also instructed at numerous annual training venues (ASLET, IALEFI, ILEETA, SPI, etc.) since 1990. His previous ASLET presentation was given in 2002, at the Ontario (CA) conference. Tom currently works for the Police Policy Studies Council, an interdisciplinary, research-based training and consultation firm.

·         Dr. Mark Rosekind has been a sleep researcher for NASA over a period spanning over twenty years. During that time, Dr. Rosekind has also instructed thousands of civilian and military aviators in “fatigue countermeasures.” Dr. Rosekind continues to work for NASA, on a contract basis, under the auspices of his company, Alertness Solutions.


2006 ASLET Annual Conference
Presentation Outline
 “Surviving the Nightshift”


 

 

I.          Introduction   (Tom Aveni)

 

A.                  Scope of issues to be discussed

 

1.                  Occupational Safety

2.                  Occupational Health

3.                  Mitigating Strategies

4.         Summary of Issues

 

II.          Occupational Safety  (Tom Aveni)

 

A.                  Nocturnal nature of high-risk assignments and calls for service

B.                 Officers Killed & Assaulted under low light conditions.

C.                 The frequency & severity of judgmental errors due to ambiguous environmental stimuli.

D.                 The failure of traditional training to properly prepare officers for working at night.

 

III.         Occupational Health  (Dr. Rosekind)

 

A.                  How shift-work disrupts the body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm)

B.                 Short & long-term health issues

C.                 Performance impairment issues

D.                 Judgment and emotional temperament issues, and their implications for police

 

IV.        Mitigating Strategies (Dr. Rosekind & Tom Aveni)

 

A.                  Equipment

B.                 Tactical considerations

C.                 Training considerations

D.                 Fatigue Countermeasures

E.                 Policy implications

 

V.         Summary  (Rosekind & Aveni)

 

A.                  What your agency can do now

B.                 What your agency should begin planning to do in the future

C.                 What Alertness Solutions & PPSC can do to help you facilitate essential change

D.                 Our text as a working resource: “Surviving the Nightshift”