NCJ Number
227184
Date Published
2009
Length
256 pages
Annotation
A police training expert shares the lessons learned by veteran officers who have mastered effective ways to handle the variety of situations officers encounter on every shift.
Abstract
The first chapter of this book develops the “Theory Behind Tactical Perfection.” Tactical perfection “is defined as the ability of the street officer to do all of the small, step-by-step procedures and actions necessary to complete any field contact with one or more suspects.” The successful completion of “tactical perfection” every day on every shift is the key to officer survival. The failure to practice appropriate safety techniques on every call every day increases an officer’s risk of making a fatal mistake when that life-or-death encounter comes. Detailed tactical routines repeated perfectly over and over keep officers safe. Content is brought to this theory in another chapter that describes techniques for searching, handcuffing, and transporting suspects. This is followed by a chapter on offensive tactics that include nonlethal to lethal force. Four chapters address techniques in conducting “stops.” Chapters address routine and dangerous traffic stops, pedestrian stops and field interviews, stops that involve gangs, and police pursuits in a car and on foot. Five chapters focus on techniques for dealing with various types of dispatched “calls.” These chapters discuss calls that pertain to domestic violence, robberies, burglaries and prowlers, school violence, and workplace violence. The concluding two chapters cover “special arrests.” These arrests involve professional criminals, transients, substance abusers, and mentally ill persons. An “Afterword” contains 28 “articles” for tactical perfection.