BaselinesFor law enforcement & corrections
Concussion baselines built for shift work and return-to-duty.
Three in four officers report a lifetime head injury — yet most agencies still clear personnel without objective baseline data. HQ Baseline gives you pre-injury reference points officers can complete on a phone between shifts.
- Officers with head-injury history
- 74%
- On-duty concussions unrecognized
- 70%
- Self-administered baseline
- 15 min
- Graduated clearance workflow
- RTD
For command staff
What chiefs, unions, and occupational health need aligned.
Pre-injury reference data
Memory, balance, gait, and symptom baselines captured before the next assault, pursuit, or training hit — not after liability is already in motion.
Return-to-duty workflow
Graduated clearance that mirrors Public Safety Medicine guidance — not a single ER note and back to full contact.
Shift-friendly delivery
Self-administered on personal phones. No lab appointments, no iPad carts, no pulling entire platoons off the street.
Union-ready privacy framing
Baselines as career protection and workers' comp documentation — with clear policies on who sees what, when.
Corrections + patrol in one program
Same platform for sworn and civilian jail staff, transport units, and specialty teams.
Audit-ready records
Timestamped baselines and post-injury comparisons for risk management, comp disputes, and policy review.
Youth sports solved the baseline problem fifteen years ago. Every state now expects documented baselines and graduated return-to-play for student-athletes. Law enforcement — with equal or higher head-injury exposure — largely has neither. Ohio State research and the 2025 Silent Struggles cohort confirm the gap: high prevalence, persistent under-diagnosis, and clearance decisions made without individual reference data.
Where to start reading
Our editorial cluster is organized around one primary research summary. Topic-specific essays link back to it so you are not reading seven versions of the same 74% statistic. For operational rollout, pair the baseline testing playbook with the return-to-duty protocol.
Recommended cluster reading
- 74% of officers report a head injury — The primary research summary — Ohio State data, under-reporting, and why baselines matter.
- Return-to-duty protocol — Graduated clearance steps for officers after a concussion — not the same as return-to-play.
- Police concussion baseline testing — Badge, gun, and baseline — the original playbook for agency rollout.
- Graded return-to-duty protocol — How Public Safety Medicine-style progression maps to patrol and tactical work.
- The concussion crisis chiefs aren't talking about — Command-staff framing for policy, liability, and officer trust.
- Sergeant checklist: first hour after a head hit — Field supervisor actions before medical clearance and RTD decisions.
- Correctional officers and TBI injury rates — Why jails and prisons need the same baseline infrastructure as patrol.
- 2,758 head acceleration events in one academy class — Training exposure data that should drive academy safety redesign.
- Shared baseline programs across police, fire, and EMS — Regional infrastructure when your agency cannot go it alone.
- First 24 hours after a head hit — Documentation that protects officers and supports workers' comp claims.