Friday, December 15, 2023

Twenty Ways To Smarten Up American Police Systems

Posted by Peter Quennell

Uploaded a year ago; 600,000 views now

1. Wider Context

Again and again we see US police in serious shortfall, in major part because of this globally unique arrangement.

There are about 18,000 state and local police agencies in the US. These generally fall into the following categories: state police, county police, county sheriffs, municipal police, and special district police.

Resultant problems? Generally low pay, difficulty in recruitment and retention, on-average poor training, amateurish elected or politically-appointed leadership, huge problems in nation-wide modernizing, and almost complete absence of learning from other countries. 

Cops shoot hundreds annually, and are very widely mistrusted. Gun ownership is incessantly on the rise in part because of this situation.

2. Uvalde Texas Case

There is ONE important bright-spot development; the growing torrent of recordings from the huge array of cellphones and CCTVs and police bodycams and police-car-windscreen cams. The Uvalde case highlights that.

Eighteen months ago, nineteen elementary-school children and two adults were killed by yet another heavily armed mass murderer.

The lack of preparedness at the school and the (frankly cowardly and uncaring) local law-enforcement response have been enormously criticized. It will take years for full correction and the planned building of a (vastly enhanced) new elementary school.

At bottom is a 53-minutes Frontline analysis of thousands of hours of bodycam and other recorded evidence by the American Public Broadcasting Service.

Highly worth reading is this 20-point online analysis by highly regarded police trainer Lt Dan Marcou. In summary:

1. Believe it can happen! One officer shared, “None of us ever thought the situation would happen here.”

2. Train realistically, regularly and together!

3. Communication is a critical component of tactical success.

4. Immediately move toward the threat, identify the threat and stop the threat!

5. Manage your fear.

6. An active shooter in a room with victims and potential victims is an immediate emergency.

7. An inner perimeter should contain only the problem and the solution to the problem.

8. The first rule in breaching is to check to see if the door is unlocked!

9. You can’t wait for ballistic shields to be brought to the scene during an active killing in progress.

10. If you have no distractive device, improvise.

11. Know the layout in advance.

12. Someone needs to take command immediately.

13. For large events establish a command post and learn to use the incident command model.

14. If you can’t solve the problem don’t impede someone who can.

15. If you are not the cavalry, step aside when the cavalry arrives.

16. Pre-practice room entries/clearing even if you are not SWAT.

17. Shoot accurately under stress.

18. There should be a staging area.

19. Realize that once the threat is over, there is an incredible amount of work to be done, such as [examples].

20. Realize everyone processes incidents like this differently.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/15/23 at 01:24 PM in Hoaxes Sollecito etc

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