Best questions for police officer survey about less lethal options training

Here are some of the best questions for a police officer survey about less lethal options training, plus tips you can use to make strong questions yourself. We at Specific can help you build this type of survey in seconds—just describe your goal, and our AI does the rest.

Best open-ended questions to ask police officers about less lethal options training

If you want honest, detailed feedback, open-ended questions are your friend. They invite real stories and nuanced insights that simple yes/no or multiple-choice questions often miss. Use open-ended questions when you need to understand context, motivation, or identify blind spots in your training programs.

1. What challenges have you faced when using less-lethal options in the field?

2. How effective do you find the current training on less-lethal tools in preparing you for real situations?

3. Can you describe a recent incident where less-lethal force was used? What worked, and what could have been improved?

4. In your opinion, what are the biggest gaps in our current less-lethal options training?

5. How has training influenced your decision-making during high-pressure encounters?

6. What additional resources or support would help you feel more confident using less-lethal options?

7. Have you ever hesitated to use a less-lethal tool? What factors contributed to your hesitation?

8. How does less-lethal options training in this department compare to others you’ve experienced or heard about?

9. What would you change about how less-lethal options are taught or practiced?

10. Are there specific scenarios you wish were addressed more thoroughly in training sessions?

When we ask officers about their firsthand experiences and needs, their responses can reveal training gaps that aren’t obvious from stats alone. For instance, research shows that the effectiveness and implementation of less-lethal options varies widely across departments—highlighting why it’s vital to keep the conversation open for honest feedback instead of relying solely on standardized tests. A 2023 study reported that chemical agents reduce hospitalization or death risk to 4%, whereas CEDs, impact weapons, and canines posed higher risks—meaning, every insight counts when safety is on the line. [1]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for police officer surveys on less lethal options

Single-select multiple-choice questions help quantify key data and make it easy for respondents to participate, especially on mobile. They’re invaluable when you want to benchmark practices or start a conversation about a complex topic—sometimes it’s easier for someone to choose from a few brief options, then dig deeper with a followup question.

Question: Which less-lethal option do you feel most confident using in the field?

• Taser

• Chemical agent (e.g., pepper spray)

• Impact weapon (e.g., baton)

• Other

Question: How would you rate the quality of your current less-lethal options training?

• Excellent

• Good

• Fair

• Poor

Question: How frequently do you participate in refresher courses on less-lethal options?

• Monthly

• Quarterly

• Annually

• Rarely or never

When to followup with "why?" If an officer selects "Poor" for training quality, that’s your cue. A simple “Why do you feel this way about the training?” as a followup opens the door to specifics you need—maybe gaps in instruction, outdated materials, or logistical challenges.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Whenever your options can’t possibly cover all real-world scenarios, "Other" is essential. Officers may mention a less-lethal tool you hadn’t considered or a new concern. Smart followup questions can help you capture those unexpected, important insights.

Should you use an NPS-style question for officer training feedback?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a simple, powerful way to gauge overall satisfaction and loyalty—often used to assess how likely someone is to recommend a product, service, or even a training program. For less-lethal options training, it’s useful to quantify overall confidence and satisfaction. Officers can quickly express how they feel with a score, then you can follow up for more detail depending if they’re promoters, passives, or detractors.

If you want to explore this, you can instantly generate an NPS survey for police training feedback with Specific. Combine this NPS-style approach with open-ended followups for a complete picture.

The power of follow-up questions

We all know that a single survey reply can leave us scratching our heads. That’s why we’re huge fans of automated followup questions—discover more in our deep dive on automated AI follow-up questions.

Here’s why they matter: followups clarify ambiguous statements, dig deeper into motivations, and uncover the context behind responses. It’s how you move past “surface” answers and get real, actionable insights. At Specific, our AI reacts to each response in real time. It will ask the right clarifying question—just as an expert interviewer would—so you capture the full story quickly and naturally. You’ll save time that would otherwise be spent chasing people for clarification, and your survey will feel like a real, thoughtful conversation.

• Officer: “I didn’t use the Taser because I wasn’t sure it was allowed that day.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you tell me more about the situation and what made you unsure about using the Taser?”

How many followups to ask? Two to three followups per open-ended response usually uncover the key context you need. In Specific, you can set a limit, and the AI will move on to the next question when you’ve gotten what you need—no risk of exhausting your respondents.

This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of a rigid form, each survey feels like a back-and-forth chat—making even long surveys feel personal and engaging.

AI analysis, survey response insights, qualitative feedback: Even with detailed, free-text answers, you can quickly analyze responses using AI. Filter by themes, surface trending concerns, and let AI help you spot key issues—no more manual coding through piles of text.

Try generating a smart survey in minutes—seeing real AI followups in action is the best way to understand how much richer your insights can be.

How to prompt ChatGPT or AI to generate better police officer survey questions

When you use an AI survey generator, writing a simple prompt will get you started, but a bit more context always leads to smarter, more relevant results. If you want to use ChatGPT or any GPT-powered builder, you can start with:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Police Officer survey about less lethal options training.

This will get you decent questions, but the AI truly shines when you provide detailed context. For example:

We are a metropolitan police department reviewing our less-lethal options training after recent policy updates. Please suggest 10 open-ended questions for a police officer survey aimed at identifying training gaps, practical challenges, and improvements. Focus on how training impacts field decisions and safety of both officers and civilians.

Next, once you get your first list, you can organize for clarity:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

When you see the categories (such as “Confidence”, “Incident Review”, “Training Gaps”), pick whichever matter most to you and drill down:

Generate 10 questions for categories Incident Review, Training Gaps, and Confidence Using Less-Lethal Tools.

What is a conversational survey?

Conversational surveys, especially those powered by AI, feel more like a natural back-and-forth chat than filling out a traditional form. When you create your police officer survey about less-lethal options this way, you’re meeting respondents where they are—on mobile or desktop, in a familiar, friendly chat window.

Let’s break down some key differences.

Why use AI for police officer surveys? You want honest, thoughtful officer input to build safer, smarter training programs. AI-generated surveys mean less time authoring, less bias in question wording, and smarter probing for context. For deeper tips, explore our guide on how to create a survey for law enforcement training.

Specific offers the best user experience for conversational surveys—officers answer at their own pace, every reply gets full attention, and insights are available instantly. This is what an AI survey example should be: fast to set up, easy for any officer to use, and powerful in terms of the actionable insights you gain.

See this less lethal options training survey example now

Start collecting deep, actionable feedback from police officers—in minutes. See the power of conversational, AI-driven surveys, where every reply sparks meaningful follow-up and you get truly usable training insights fast.