Roundtable: University-Law Enforcement Partnership to Improve Physical Agility Testing

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

20 years ago a member of a local sheriff’s department, working on his own master’s degree, did a study of the appropriateness of the physical agility test. The research showed the physical agility test needed modification to be equitable from a gender perspective. Subsequently the researcher went on to complete a doctoral program and is now a university professor; the sheriff’s department has modified their physical agility test. Currently, three researchers, a sheriff’s department sergeant, and a graduate student are embarked on another study of the physical agility testing of applications. This roundtable provides five presentations related to the 20 year evolution, the experience of moving from a law enforcement agency to be a university researcher, current issues perceived by the law enforcement agency, and the process of a task analysis currently under way. The goal is to discuss issues related to physical agility testing, and to explore the benefits of such partnerships of a university and a law enforcement agency. The roundtable can be seen as a tool kit for anyone considering the possibility of doing evaluative research related to their physical agility testing.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Individual Presentations

• Twenty Years of Physical Agility Testing - Delores E. Craig-Moreland, Wichita State University

• Engagement in Research as an Officer and as a Researcher - Michael Birzer, Wichita State University

• Gender Norming: Should it be Used? - David Hein, Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office

• The Survey that Supports a Job Task Analysis - Jodie Beeson, Wichita State University

• What's it All About: Student Involvement in Applied Research - Billie Walker, Wichita State University

• Coordinating Connections in University-LE Research - Kristin Brewer, Wichita State University

Chair

• Kristin Brewer, Wichita State University