Injuries to recruits is costly and takes officers off the beat.
A research study led by Edith Cowan University (ECU) has been given a massive funding injection with $1.17 million dollars committed by the Australian Government's National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC), bolstering the million-dollar research funding being committed by the WA Health Department and WA Police Force.
The project, which is led by ECU's Dr Myles Murphy is co-designing and implementing a sustainable injury prevention program for police force recruits.
"By implementing a world-leading prevention program into recruit training, the work we will be doing here can improve workforce health and reduce healthcare costs associated with injuries in the police force," Dr Myles Murphy said.
The research will have positive impacts on the wider community.
Injuries to recruits is costly and takes officers off the beat, Dr Murphy said his research has already shown 1 in 5 police recruits around the world are injured during training.
Based on the number of days lost to injury during recruit training, it is estimated that more than $500,000 per year is spent paying Police Force recruits who are unable to train.
"At the end of the day, we need to invest in ways to prevent these injuries to keep officers training," Dr Murphy said.
"Because the reality is the more time police are injured and sitting on the sidelines, they aren’t able to complete their training and graduate and they are not out on the beat."
"NHMRC's Partnership Project scheme provides funding and support to create opportunities for researchers to collaborate with partner organisations to deliver meaningful outcomes, NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh said.
"The support we receive from our funding partners, is vital to the success of these collaborative research projects.
"Congratulations to both Dr Murphy we can't wait to see the impact of your research on health policy, practice and service delivery."
Collaborative research
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson commended Dr Murphy on the groundbreaking research which has now been awarded a total of $1.7 million from both national and State medical research funding sources.
"The Cook Government's groundbreaking FHRI Fund continues to provide targeted funding towards inspiring health innovation research projects that make a very real difference to people in our community," Minister Dawson said.
"The MRAS program was established to support innovative and impactful research, and Dr Murphy's accomplishments highlight the high calibre of work we seek to encourage.
"Attracting national funding is vital for the long-term growth of our local research community and ensures our State continues to lead in key areas of research and innovation."
Prevention is key
Superintendent Michael Dalla-Costa, Principal Western Australia Police Academy said; "The WA Police Force Academy have been working with Dr Murphy and his team to be leaders in the prevention and management of injuries in Police Forces. This funding continues our established partnership, and we look forward to doing everything we can to optimise recruit health and performance, improving their capacity to serve the WA community."
