Police Jiu-Jitsu and Reduction in Serious Injuries to Officers and Citizens

For my dissertation, I had the pleasure of working with the Mesa Police Department to analyze their use of force from 2018-2023 to gain an evidence-based understanding of the benefits of starting a Police Jiu-Jitsu Program to enhance optimal outcomes.

The research found that previously trained Jiu-Jitsu officers caused about 0.38 major citizen injuries and 0.14 major officer injuries per month, while untrained officers caused 1.5 major citizen injuries and 1.02 major officer injuries per month. When Mesa implemented the program in 2021, the benefits in cognitive decision-making became clear. Police Jiu-Jitsu officers maintained the same major injury rates while a 4-hour familiarization training for non-Jiu-Jitsu officers resulted in reductions of their injuries to 0.38 major officer and major citizen injuries per month. Mesa did not have a major officer injury to a Police Jiu-Jitsu officer for over 18 months and hundreds of force incidents.

The results of me research can be read here: https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.193369