Marksmanship Skills of Female Police Recruits: Impact of Basic Firearms Training

Abstract

Female police officers generally have a weaker grip strength and are less familiar with firearms than their male counterparts when they enter the police academy. The study examined whether the basic law enforcement firearms class adequately prepared female officers. Police recruits coming to the Police Training Institute (PTI) with no or little firearms training were selected. The grip strength and marksmanship scores of 216 police recruits (185 men and 31 women) were measured. Both male and female recruits significantly improved their marksmanship scores by the end of the training. The female scores remained slightly but significantly lower than the male scores due to their lower grip strength.