Shane Irving
Employing an Occupationally Relevant Fitness Assessment for Specialist Police in Urban Operations
This doctoral research investigates the occupational role scope and physical performance requirements of specialist tactical law enforcement personnel, including Police Tactical Groups (PTGs), Counter-Terrorism Response, and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units. These elite teams perform high-risk missions demanding exceptional physical proficiency, cognitive resilience, and operational precision under significant physiological load. The research maps the most common mission tasks, such as high-risk warrant execution, non-compliant apprehension, and extended-duration load carriage to define the physical profile required for optimal performance and readiness. Recognising that injury and fatigue threaten capability in these finite workforces, the study examines how evidence-based, occupationally relevant fitness assessments can enhance recruitment, conditioning, and injury prevention. This work contributes to developing sustainable, data-informed human performance frameworks to improve readiness and reduce injury across specialist tactical populations.