NCJ Number
114647
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 55 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1988) Pages: 34-40
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Police must have written policy to govern critical events, and this policy should be clear to officers. Policy implementation is aided by training in police decisionmaking skills and technological applications.
Abstract
Departmental written policies designed to guide officer decisionmaking in emotionally charged situations should realistically assist police officers in performing their work effectively and safely. This requires that policy fit officers' perceptions of good police work. For example, police policy should encourage 'hot pursuit' of suspects but in the safest and most effective manner. If policies are to be implemented by officers, the policies must be readable, clear, and brief. One key to officers' implementing policy is their development of decisionmaking skills that enable them to act rationally instead of emotionally. Means of cultivating such skills are through training simulations of critical events and on-the-job training. Technological applications can expand officers' decisionmaking options. For example, current technology has provided a device that can de-energize the electrical system of a car in motion, thus eliminating the need for police hot pursuit in some circumstances. 2 notes.