Relationship Between Training Load and Injuries in Law Enforcement Recruits

Abstract

Background Law enforcement agencies typically conduct academy training to develop new officers. As these future officers are recruited from the general population, increases in physical workload during academy training can influence injury risk. This study explored the relationship between training load (TL) and injury risk among police officer recruits. Methods Data relating to injuries suffered, distance covered, physical fitness, and time spent in physical training were collected from 547 academy police recruits (431 male; 116 female). Course length varied between 20 and 22 weeks. A generalised linear mixed model was used to assess relationships between these variables and injury risk. The best fitting model was chosen using a stepwide approach with Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) used for comparison. Results The best fitting model utilised weekly distance, week of training, and biological sex to predict injury (χ 2 = 38.3, p -value < 0.001). Higher weekly distances, earlier weeks of academy training, and female sex all resulted in higher probabilities of injury. Conclusions Rapid increases in TL (distance) during the transition from civilian to law enforcement recruit and lower fitness levels (resilience to TL) may lead to higher injury risk. The use of occupationally specific periodised, ability-based, training may lead to a more optimal TL for recruits, limiting overtraining while sufficiently developing fitness.