Breaking Barriers: Increasing Graduation Rates, Improving Performance, Reducing Injuries, and Supporting Academy Instructors
Fitness deficits among incoming recruits, limited equipment, and logistical constraints can contribute to increased injuries, higher attrition rates, and significant financial costs for agencies in medical claims and lost personnel. This session presents findings from a university-supported, low-cost, 12-week fitness program that reduced severe injuries by 76%, improved performance, and successfully adapted to recruits with varying fitness levels across multiple academies. The program’s evidence-based strategies helped reduce training failures, enhance retention, and promote officer wellness. Attendees will explore scalable, cost-effective solutions that leverage commercial off-the-shelf technology to standardize training, reduce liability, and optimize agency budgets. Notably, the program achieved success despite recruits entering with diverse medical and fitness backgrounds.
Target Audience: Command Staff/Supervisors
Joseph Dulla
Lieutenant (Ret.)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Joe Dulla, MA, TSAC-F*D has over 40 years of experience in first responder roles, including emergency medical technician, lifeguard, mountain rescue, & law enforcement. He served for 31 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in various sworn ranks & positions including academy director overseeing the training of over 5,550 recruits. His expertise includes physical fitness, wellness, and human performance optimization for public safety personnel across numerous domains. He managed the LASD's "Fast Track Injury Care" program that used cutting-edge sports medicine approaches to rapidly return injured personnel safely back to duty. Joe also served as Interim Associate Dean of Fire Technology & Wellness at Santa Ana College managing the wellness needs of over 30 member departments across five Southern California counties. He holds TSAC-F certification, has presented internationally, and authored or co-authored over 30 articles on law enforcement physical demands, wellness, injury, and human performance. Joe currently serves as a CRI-TAC SME for wellness efforts and is a PhD student at Bond University, researching recruit attrition, success factors, physical abilities, injuries, costs, and human performance optimization.
Bridget Melton, PhD
Associate Professor, Strength and Conditioning, Department of Kinesiology
Georgia Southern University
Dr. Bridget Melton, EdD, ACSM EP-C, NSCA CSCS, FMS-2, is a Professor of Exercise Science at Georgia Southern University with over 20 years of experience. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and delivered more than 200 presentations, with a focus on promoting physical activity, particularly among tactical populations. Her work includes collaborations with fire and law enforcement agencies to improve wellness outcomes. She has led major initiatives, including a FEMA grant to evaluate embedded providers in the fire service, as well as partnerships with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Dr. Melton is an active member of professional organizations such as ACSM, NSCA, and the National Association of Kinesiology in Higher Education, which reinforces her leadership and impact in the field.
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