Examining the impact of grip strength and officer gender on shooting performance

Effective shooting performance relies heavily on sufficient grip strength. However, some standard issue pistols used by police services may have a trigger weight that causes problems for officers with insufficient grip strength, including female officers. The current study aimed to replicate previous findings, which show that grip strength is positively related to shooting performance. We also sought to determine what grip strength is required to achieve proficient scores on a standard police pistol qualification (PPQ) when a heavy trigger weight (i.e., 8lbs-12lbs) is used. Finally, we explored the relationship between officer gender and PPQ scores to determine if grip strength plays a mediating role in this relationship.

The dominant hand grip strength (in lbs) of 86 male and 32 female officers were recorded prior to their participation in their agency mandated annual PPQ. Officer gender, grip strength, and PPQ scores were analyzed to explore how they related to one another.

Grip strength significantly impacted officers' ability to pass the PPQ, with female officers possessing lower grip strength compared to male officers, as well as achieving poorer scores on the PPQ. We determined that grip strengths in the range of 80lbs and 125lbs were needed to score approximately 85 % and 90 % on the PPQ, respectively; exceeding that of the average grip strength for the female officers in the study (M = 77.5lbs). Mediation analysis suggested that grip strength may mediate the relationship between officer gender and shooting performance, but studies with more power are needed to confirm that.

To improve shooting performance as well as public and police safety, law enforcement agencies may need to consider including grip strength training in their conditioning regime or examine the adoption pistols with a lighter trigger pull weight (e.g., 6lbs).