LEOs-How are your hands-on skills?

I was going to go through a bunch of stats relating to firearms use -v- excessive force -v- hands-on but I thought my message would get lost providing such data and I believe my inquiry and message are much more important to your safety than stats. And stats are not “you” as an individual and that’s what I’m writing about today.?

?How Would You Rate Your?"Hands-On” Skills?

This is NOT directed at any specific LEOs, departments, agencies, counties, or states. This is simply a question that I hope will bring about some conversation with regard to skills and training (or a lack thereof). Nothing more. Nothing less. So, please don’t read into anything that isn’t there. If anything, I hope this will push you to train if you’ve been slacking and to train more consistently if you have been training.

?So be honest. How would you rate your "hands-on" skills? How would you rate those in your department? I'm not talking about being heavy handed. I mean your actual detain/control/arrest skills? Be honest. Afterall, we've all seen a video or two of LEOs trying to control someone and struggling.

?Are your hands-on skills terrible, mediocre, great, or just, ok? Do you fumble, freeze, need to think about what to do? Or do you just do “whatever” because you’re not certain what to do or how to respond and whatever comes out, comes out? Or perhaps you’re the one that continuously gets injured during these encounters? Or maybe you’re the “one” that flows through these skills gracefully handling anything or anyone that comes your way? Why is that?

?Are there certain tactics that just don’t work for you no matter what you do? Are they difficult to use? Is it you or the tactic? I’ll be the first to tell you not every tactic or technique works for everyone who tries to use it. For some it doesn’t work because of a lack of skill, for others it be due to a lack of training or believe it or not a mental block. For others it may be more physical. You’re too small, too big, too slow, slower instincts, or all of that or none of that AND, you have ongoing injuries. There’s much to consider.

So why? Why, do some officers experience these issues? Is it the type of training? Is it not enough training? Is it the wrong type of training? Is the training not consistent?

Can I ask when was the last time you were great at something but never practiced? Take your time answering, I’ll wait…….. If I had to take an educated guess I’d probably say never. So, how do you expect?to be good at something you never practice? Or, rarely, if ever practice? Perhaps you do practice. Unfortunately, your version of practice may just be the “live training” version. Not. Good.

?I’m a firm believer?one should train/practice as much as possible. Especially?in techniques that you most often rely upon. Muscle memory really does work!

So, here’s another question. You can choose the mode of time here (single shift, week, month, year, etc.) what’s the ratio between the times you used your firearm versus the times you went hands-on? What about your partner(s), department, county? I realize there are many, many variables regarding this question due to assignments, patrols, low/high crime areas etc. But let’s just keep it as general as possible for the purposes of exploration and discovery.

?So, what are your numbers??????

??# of times you’ve used your firearm?-VS-?# of times you're hands-on?

Hopefully, your “hands-on” number is low, and your use of firearms is nonexistent. But which was more??If your hands-on number was higher than the use of firearms how do those numbers reflect on your training?

?In other words, if your hands-on encounters outnumber the firearms encounters, are you training significantly more in “hands-on''? Or is there such a lack of training in general that you cannot recall the last time there was any hands-on training at all?

Perhaps hands-on training should be approached as if there were annual qualifications. Hmmm…. Just a thought.

?So, if the chances of using your firearm on the street is still extremely rare but "hands on"?is a more expected possibility during the normal course of business then why isn’t that reflective in training?

Why is there more training for firearms which are rarely used and almost no training for hands-on which is much more likely to be used during a shift?

?Now, I realize the lack of?“hands-on” training has many causes. Some are financial (budget cuts, this defunding nonsense that’s still ongoing). Some are admin and/or department issues (not enough LEOs, time, resources, etc).

I’m not talking about any of that. So, why the lack of training? Well, some just get lazy. We all do at times. You need to stay motivated. Some have nowhere to train. We need to fix that. Some have no qualified trainers. We need to fix that as well. Some have no time. We definitely need to fix that. Some departments have no funds or low budgets, and officers are financially responsible for their own training. I may be able to help with that. However, if it’s just pure laziness, do you realize you’re not only putting yourself at risk but your partner as well?

You have a very difficult, demanding and oftentimes violent job to do. And it is because of the violent part that you must train as often as possible.?Training will keep you safer, sharper, focused, and will enhance your instinctive skills.

You will always sink to level of your training when the sh*t hits the fan. Yes???

Let’s talk for a moment about the hidden reason some are not training. Some have mental health matters that need attention. YEP, I brought THAT up. Why??? Well, because it affects everything you do and everything you don’t do. Especially when it comes to training. So, if that’s your “why” then I’m begging you…. to please get help. I am not a mental health professional. But I am, however, more than happy to help any way I can. I have a few connections here on LinkedIn that I am certain would be happy to help and/or steer you in the right direction. Get help. This is not the time to go “nah, I’m good”. We all need you to be at your best. And we all care deeply about you. Don’t listen to the haters. They hate because well, that’s what they do. And that’s THEIR problem. Not yours…..

Anyway, you must make certain to train hands-on whenever, wherever?and as often as possible. Only by training can?you stay sharp.

Hands-on training also provides something we have not discussed.?CONFIDENCE…… the?Confidence?to know you can handle yourself.?Confidence?to know you got your partner’s back.?Confidence?to know you have another barrier to use prior to using your firearm. And?confidence?to know you can effectively detain/control your subject to protect yourself and the subject because God knows everyone has their phone out ready to record you but very few people will put the phone down to offer an LEO assistance……

And finally, if part of the reason you’re not training is due to your superiors, county, state etc., not offering, providing and/or paying for training then let's talk. I’m happy to help any way that I can.?

My goal is your safety. And your way to safety is through training. Anything I can do to make you think about your training and have you train more consistently I’m happy to do. Even if I have to piss you off to get you going. ??

Remember you will always sink to the level of your training when the sh*t hits the fan.?So, raise the level of your training. Be realistic in your training. Train often, train consistently and train safely.

?Do you have any training videos or pictures to share? I’d love to see them. I really want to see the videos to prove to me that you’re training. Lol. Just kidding. But seriously if you really do have them, please send them. I’d love to see what you guys are doing.

?Pray that every LEO gets home safe after EVERY single shift.

?Stay safe.

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