Relationship Between DARI Overall Scores and Physical Ability Test (PAT) Performance in Police Cadets

Authors

Brian Jones, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Vipa Bernhardt, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Michael D. Oldham, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Hussien Jabai, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Bronwyn Banks, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Fatima Alonso, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Joshua Nate, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Karla Pegueros, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Nikita Strogalev, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Ouays Bakcha, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Stephanie Tapia Ochoa, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Veronika Kramarenko, East Texas A&M UniversityFollow

Abstract

Tactical personnel must perform physically demanding tasks requiring agility, endurance, and coordination. Although the Physical Ability Test (PAT) assesses occupational readiness and reflects performance, it doesn’t capture underlying movement quality that affects readiness or injury risk. The DARI Motion System® utilizes markerless 3D motion capture to generate an Overall Score (0–1000) combining movement quality and performance metrics. Markerless systems have shown reliable joint-motion measurement in tactical settings. PURPOSE: To determine whether DARI ® Overall scores predict PAT performance and to identify a threshold associated with achieving the 97-second benchmark. METHODS: Police cadets (n = 49) completed DARI ® Performance testing followed by East Texas A&M University’s Basic Peace Officer Course (BPOC) academy PAT conducted by Jabai Performance. DARI ® Overall scores and PAT times were recorded, and cadets were classified as meeting (≤ 97s) or not meeting (> 97s) the benchmark. The PAT included sprinting, directional changes through a cone zig-zag, low-hurdle navigation, a sled push, license-plate recall, forward/backward bear crawls, and a weighted victim drag. DARI ® Motion evaluated full-body movement across upper- and lower-extremity motions.  Pearson correlation, linear and logistic regressions, and receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses were performed in IBM SPSS (v29). RESULTS: DARI ® Overall scores were negatively correlated with PAT times (r = –.492, p < .001). Logistic regression showed DARI ® Overall significantly predicted PAT pass/fail outcomes (p < .001; R² = .408). ROC analysis demonstrated good discriminative accuracy (AUC = .810, p < .001). The optimal cutoff occurred near 590 points, where sensitivity reached .76 and specificity increased to .83, indicating cadets scoring ≥ 590 were more likely to meet the 97s benchmark. CONCLUSION: Higher DARI ® Overall scores were associated with faster PAT completion. A threshold near 590 points may help identify tactical individuals likely to meet PAT standards, supporting DARI’s ® use as a readiness-screening tool.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Brian; Bernhardt, Vipa; Oldham, Michael D.; Jabai, Hussien; Banks, Bronwyn; Alonso, Fatima; Nate, Joshua; Pegueros, Karla; Strogalev, Nikita; Bakcha, Ouays; Tapia Ochoa, Stephanie; and Kramarenko, Veronika (2026) "Relationship Between DARI Overall Scores and Physical Ability Test (PAT) Performance in Police Cadets," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 18, Article 125.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/125