“Law Enforcement in a Rapidly Changing Radical Society”

The world today has seen some dramatic and radical changes in attitudes and behaviors towards Law Enforcement in the lawful execution of their duties. These radical attitudes, evidenced by verbal pronouncements and legislation by many important people, have fostered, engendered, and empowered lawless civilians to openly display violent aggression towards the many great, loyal, and caring Law Enforcement Officers.

This article is by no means intending to absolve any individual or group of law enforcement officers of recalcitrant, abhorrent, or unlawful behavior. In fact, behaviors contrary to stated Policies, Procedures, Rules, Regulations, and lawful reasonable public expectations must be dealt with accordingly to ensure public trust, and confidence.

However, present views of law enforcement today, and the demands to defund and dismantle law enforcement, goes without the thought of the Multiple Roles of Policing in our communities. As the most highly visible public official, a Police Officer is actually the nexus between the Law and Community; the values of which are changing rapidly, and not for the better. One only has to call to mind current trends against Law Enforcement.

Additionally, LEOs are expected to operate and function within numerous subcultures replete with internal conflicts, and to deal with the complexities of the present social issues. And in my own view, many are issues that LEOs has not been trained, taught, and prepared to deal with, and/or to mediate over.

Police Officers are expected to function in areas and scenarios they are also not paid for, or trained to deal with, and that should be a Red Flag for Liability concerns. They are poorly paid, overworked, underestimated, unappreciated and under-trained with diluted training programs due to budget. Programs that does not Maximize the Potential for the Tactical Environment, to include very unrealistic Defense Tactics Training Programs.

It is important to note that LEOs are also humans beings from within the society, with dependent families and loved ones, possessing similar human needs, and just as fallible as all other humans. But, it is important to mention that Law enforcement is about the only job where one has to function in situations necessitating serious lifesaving, split seconds decision making and expertise independently, and with minimal supervision in defense of his/her life, or that of another including suspects.

In describing the profile of a police officer, Martin Reiser, Ed. D, Department Psychologist for the LAPD in his book: “Practical Psychology for Police Officers” page 6 paragraph 2 quoted Raymond Catrell a British/American psychologist:

“They (LEOs) adaptively fit the needs of practical alertness and decisiveness, toughness in difficulties, emotional stability, identification with moral standards in the job, and a temperament which makes contact with people easier.”

So indeed, not everyone possesses the aptitude, right attitude, and general make up – the DNA to be a Law Enforcement Officer. They are certainly an exceedingly rare breed of consummate professionals even while being the recipients of the worst ridicules, and disparagement. Viciously vilified, maligned, and villainized.

In most instances, unjustly and unfairly bearing blame for nearly every incident by those who should be expected to know better and be fair and balanced in their judgments. Consequently, the ensuing results are chants by activists to see them either Dead, Defunded and/or Disbanded, with attacks on their persons increasing exponentially, without protests or concerns for their well-beings by those who should.

So, while there have been many great technological advancements in law enforcement, what are the real problems and issues confronting the effective and efficient performance of law enforcement officers in the Tactical Environment? There have been numerous instances of officers unable to expedite arrest and control aggressive and violent suspects effectively and efficiently. To the extent of some have even been relieved of their Duty Weapons by violent suspects.

On many occasions multiple officers present were unable to control and subdue one suspect, or to remove a suspect effectively from inside a vehicle. And the problem might well be that they are improperly and/or insufficiently trained/prepared Mentally and Tactically. Such deficiency in Advanced Integrated Training usually results in excessive Police Use of Force espoused by an arousal of negative emotions, resulting in cries and complaints of brutality and excessive force.

This leads to the main area that I really intended to address. Training: In relation to its realistic suitability and relevance for policing today in the Tactical Environment. In my own humble professional opinion, there is an urgent need for reviews, revisions, and restructuring of current Police Training Programs in the Non-Deadly Use-Of-Force in Integrated Defense Tactics and De-escalation.

Many police officers personally invest their time and money to better prepare themselves by taking classes in various Martial Arts disciplines. And who can fault them for looking after themselves? After all, they are family people as well and are expected home at the end of their Tour of Duty.

However, what are the lawful and legal concerns, and consequences when these external training is brought into play in the defense of their lives On-Duty? It is the duty and responsibility of law enforcement Administrators to ensure that their officers are retrained, reeducated, and reexamined frequently, and seek to introduce updated training and information to keep up with that of Modern Criminals. Anything less is a potential Liability of “Failure To Train.” Re-qualification is not Training!

How do we address that? There needs to be a general overhaul of Policing that will better prepare them for the effective and efficient execution of their tasks to include, but limited to:

1.    Basic Induction Training review, revision, and expansion.

2.    General review, and revision, of the Use-of-Force Option Continuum Policy.

3.    Realistic advanced life-saving Integrated Defense Tactics Training.

4.    Advanced Tactical Arrest and Control training for aggressive and violent suspects.

5.    Improved education and training in De-escalation.

Given the above mentioned, there should be serious considerations to the following questions:

1.    How is Law Enforcement viewed in today’s society? The Optics!

2.    How are they expected to function in current high stress situations?

3.    What serious considerations, if any; have been given towards the psychological well-being of LEOs? Suicides! Alcohol!

4.    What serious consideration have been undertaken towards the support and protection of LEOs from unfair, unjust external verbal attacks?

5.    Are they sufficiently educated and trained to consider both the Why of behavior, and How to approach in situations?

6.    Are LEOs really prepared with Integrated Defense Tactics Skills and Knowledge for realistic aggressive and violent confrontations by non-compliant suspects?

7.    Is there a need to review, revise, revamp, and restructure Basic Induction Academy Training as it relates to realistic street encounters and street survival?

8.    Considering the high level of situational stress and increased inherent dangers are they fairly paid?

9.    Is their training and education budget sufficient?

10. Is it properly and sufficiently appropriated and allocated towards the advancement of their training and education?

11. How often do they retrain? And how is it measured and evaluated?

12. What are the disparities between small and large departments?

13. How is Law Enforcement affected by the politics of the day?

Conclusion:

The training programs for law enforcement must undergo important expedited reviews, revisions, and restructuring. To provide our Law Enforcement Officers with the best training from Basic Academy Training to Advanced In-Service Training is a prime necessity, and Administrative Responsibility.

Our Law Enforcement Officers deserves the best proper tools to get the job done safely, effectively, and efficiently. Neglecting to take the necessary steps in effecting positive changes to training, exposes our Law Enforcement Officers to grave danger to include Death and/or Serious Bodily Harm. And I would be remiss not to mention that law-abiding citizens will be denied the Right to be properly Served and Protected.

Many Law Enforcement Officers have suffered great humiliating defeats being beaten, disarmed and Killed in the Line of Duty. How many more must face this embarrassment and defeat at the hands of criminals without a defense? The only answer is: They must “Be Prepared or Be Dead.”

About the Author:

Retired Sergeant Michael J. Lazarus, Sr is the CEO and Master Instructor of Combative Systems International, Inc in Florida, a NACOP-endorsed instructor, and 25-year veteran of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). He served in numerous capacities including as a Patrol Officer, Shift Operator, Field Training Officer, Investigator, Public Schools Speaker and Lead Firearms and Tactics Instructor for the Police Training College (PTC) now Academy, and numerous Special Units nationwide. He graduated as a Drill, Firearms, Defense Tactics, Crowd Control and Riot Suppression Instructor. As a Law Enforcement instructor, he is also cross-trained in Jungle Operations and Survival by the Special Forces and Special Operations Group (SF&SOG), of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF), for Counter-Narcotics.

 His United States Law Enforcement training and education includes but is not limited to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC: FITP/SAPP 409); the Law Enforcement Officers Training School/Federal Bureau of Investigations (LEOTS/FBI), the United States Government Joint Training Center (ISGJTC); the National Rifle Association (NRA-LE Instructor Program), the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF/IJC HQ C-IED), the International Criminal Investigative Training Assessment Program as a Master Instructor (ICITAP/DOJ) in Wardak, Afghanistan. He service as a Defense Contractor included among other areas; ISAF-SOF and NATO Team Sub Zero Subject Matter Expert. He is a student in numerous Martial Arts Disciplines (55yrs), a Florida Martial Arts Hall of Fame Inductee with numerous recognition and awards for Law Enforcement Defense Tactics Training and Combative.

Website: www.combativesystems.net

References: Practical Psychology for Law Enforcement Officers by Martin Reiser,1973