The physical competence test of the Dutch National Police
The effects of wearing a police uniform on test performance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21177943 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthijs Koedijk (0000-0001-5577-8926, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, corresponding author), Hessel F Stuurman (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Peter G Renden (0000-0002-9771-0783, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), R I Vana Hutter (0000-0002-3583-9362, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Marian Strating (Dutch Police, Vitality Program, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Raoul R D Oudejans (0000-0002-1643-0107, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 264-278 |
| Publication date | 2020-05-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Police Practice and Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1561-4263 • E-ISSN: 1477-271X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/15614263.2019.1658583 |
| OpenAlex | W2971199398 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 32 |
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
Criminology · Police department · Representativeness heuristic · Applied Psychology · Engineering · Occupational Health and Performance · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sports injuries and prevention · Sports Performance and Training
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |