Excellence in Training

The most dangerous piece of equipment........ Part 2

Last week I expressed my concerns over the potential dangers of changing holsters. If you are going to change holsters make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and make sure you have a solid training plan in place. This week we are going to explore  some key elements of that training plan. 

I have asked a couple of internationally recognized behavioral scientists for their opinions on the best way to train officers to avoid them reverting back to the old draw stroke in the middle of a violent encounter and not being able to get their gun out of the holster. Both were reluctant to offer an opinion as the research has not been done in this area. When I explained my thoughts to them, bot felt I was probably right, but the reseacrch had not yet been done. 

I believe one of the most critical errors trainers make is to believe that spending four, eight or 16 hours standing on the range drawing from the new holster, going through standard qualification shoots, and shooting a few other static drills will somehow engrain this new habitual behavior in their officers. It is easy for trainers and officers alike to get cocky thinking everyone is really slick with the new draw stroke and send officers out into the field believing they are 'trained' and will perform in a gunfight like they did on the range. These beliefs however, may turn out to be fatal.

Some time must be spent on the range drawing the pistol from the new holster to familiarize officers with the new draw stroke. As quickly as possible officers however, officers must be put into contextual environments where they have to draw the weapon in environments more closely simulating deadly force encounters. This means officers must practice drawing and engaging threats:

• While they are moving forward, sideways and to the rear. 
• While seated in their vehicle and while exiting their vehicle. 
• In close quarters environments. 
• From the ground. 

Officers have to practice drawing and engaging a real threat in realistic environments and they have to be placed in scenarios where they have to assess and respond to a threat by drawing their gun and shooting the subject. 

Effective training takes time, it takes effort to develop it and write the lesson plans and it takes resources to execute it. The payoff however, is well worth the effort you invest. If you and your agency are not prepared to INVEST the time and resources to train officers properly then maybe you should not be buying new holsters.

If you are a trainer and have made all the arguments to your administration as to why you need to INVEST adequate time and effort to train officers and have lost that battle, then make the most of the time you are given. Do not complain that the agency does not care and simply go through the motions with the time you are given. Give officers as much as you can in the time you have and then give them suggestions on what they need to do on their own. Talk to the control tactics instructors (DT instructors) and get them to incorporate drills into their training as well. 

As an officer, if your agency has changed holsters and not INVESTED the time to train you properly then stop complaining about it and INVEST in your own safety and well being by doing the training yourself.

You must continually find ways to have everyone in your agency embrace training as an investment, not an expense. It is an investment in officer safety, officer well being and officer professionalism. The better trained officers are, the less likely they are to overreact or under react in the filed. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

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If you are interested in booking Brian Willis for a presentation, keynote or course contact him at winningmind@mac.com. You can visit our website at www.winningmindtraining.com for a list of presentations and courses Brian can offer your organization, staff training function or conference.

 

The most dangerous piece of equipment you will ever change is...

One of the most dangerous pieces of equipment you will ever change is your holster. 

The above statement is my opinion based on my experience, research and reading over the past 22 years of training law enforcement professionals. I have had this discussion with numerous trainers over the years and feel I need to address it in this forum as well. Years ago our holsters were crap. At the end of a foot chase you would have to retrace your route looking for your revolver as it would often fall out of your holster while you were running. If a subject grabbed onto your gun and pulled sideways they could easily rip the holster wide open or rip the holster right off your duty belt. 

The quality of holsters has improved dramatically over the years. We now have a variety of high quality Level 2 and 3 retention holsters available for officers. The the quality and frequency of weapon retention training has also improved over the years. Quality holsters and training are essential for every agency. Despite the improvements and equipment and training, disarming of law enforcement officers is still an issue. In an effort to make officers safer some agencies decide the answer is to issue new holsters to all their officers. 

Some questions you need to ask before you ever change holsters:

1. Why? What is the reason for the change? Is there a real issue that the new holsters address, or is it that someone saw a cool new retention holster at a trade show and thought this was a good idea?
2. If there is a legitimate problem is it an equipment issue, a training issue or an issue with the individual officer?
3. Are you going to make every officer change or slowly phase the new holsters in over a number of years starting with issuing the new holsters to recruits?
4. How similar is the draw stroke between the existing holster and the new holster?
5. If you are changing everyone over to the new holster how much time have you committed to 'train' officers in the new holster? Even if you are not switching everyone over you need to consider that some officers will need to replace their existing holsters over time due to wear. 
6. Is the training program actually designed to engrain new habitual behaviours for accessing the weapon during a gunfight, or is it 'go through the motions and check off the box to say we trained people' training?

Law enforcement is a gear and gadget culture and officers like new 'stuff'. I am all for advancement in equipment and technology however, you need to seriously consider the potential danger of changing holsters and make sure we are doing it for the right reasons. You may want to apply Bill Westfall's Leadership Test by asking yourself: 

Are you doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason and in the right way?

I started this blog with the statement 'One of the most dangerous piece of equipment you will ever change is your holster." I believe there are officers who died in gunfights because either they or their agency changed their holster and failed to ingrain the new habitual behaviour required to get the gun out of the holster in the dynamics of a deadly force encounter. The officers was found dead at the scene with his or her gun still in their holster and everyone wondered why. Why did they not draw their gun? Why did they not fight back? Why did they die with their gun still in their holster? 

Too often we wonder why, then we move on without the answer and without taking steps to ensure it does not happen again. 

The answer to the question "Why?" may very well be what behavioural scientists refer to as spontaneous recovery of extinguished behaviour. In the tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving event that threatened their life, the officer reverted back to the original draw stroke and was unable to get the gun out of the holster. 

Next week we will talk about how you can best train officers to minimize the chances of this occurring. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

There is still time to register for the 2011 Legacy of Excellence Conference September 6 to 9 in Calgary, Alberta. Check out the great lineup of presenters and topics at www.winningmindtraining.com. Mention the Excellence in Training blog and get a deal on the registration fee.

If you are interested in booking Brian Willis for a presentation, keynote or course contact him at winningmind@mac.com. You can visit our website at www.winningmindtraining.com for a list of presentations and courses Brian can offer your organization, staff training function or conference.

Is Safety Killing Officers - Part 2

Last week I addressed some firearms training issues where I believe safety is being used as an excuse to avoid conducting effective training. These excuses may be costing officers their lives in the field. This week I will continue with that theme by exploring training and environmental awareness.  

Trainers continually encourage officers to have 'environmental awareness' despite the reality your training programs may be doing just the opposite. During subject control tactics training the environment is often strictly controlled to ensure there is adequate room between officers. This is done for 'safety' reasons to prevent collisions during takedowns, officers tripping over each other or someone being struck with a training baton during drills.

In many combatives rooms or training areas all objects are removed from the floors so that no one trips over anything and falls or rolls an ankle. On the face of it this makes perfect sense and may be appropriate during the very early stages of training where officers are just learning skills and tactics. Unfortunately, trainers often maintain this strict control throughout entire training programs.

My concern is this type of strict environmental control eliminates the need and the ability for officers to actually develop environmental awareness.

Consider placing striking bags and other obstacles on the floor early in training and force officers to be aware of their environment. As soon as possible get the officers out of the open environment into rooms with furniture and people. This will help officers to be aware of the environment while also learning to deal with subjects in realistic environments. 

As officers progress through training you can take away some of the room between officers and groups. This forces the officers to be aware of their environment and the people and objects around them. You can have other people or objects in the area that may pose an additional threat to the officer. Doing so creates an environment where officers need to get their head on a swivel scanning for threats as soon as the highest priority threat is in control. By simply adding these environmental and contextual factors in an incremental manner throughout training you can develop the skill of environmental awareness in your officers. 

There must always be a balance between safety in training and training appropriate skills and environmental awareness. Safety is a critical element in training. At the same time you must be aware of becoming the 'over protective parents' you accuse of coddling the younger generations. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

There is still time to register for the 2011 Legacy of Excellence Conference September 6 to 9 in Calgary, Alberta. Check out the great lineup of presenters and topics at www.winningmindtraining.com. Mention the Excellence in Training blog and get a deal on the registration fee.

If you are interested in booking Brian Willis for a presentation, keynote or course contact him at winningmind@mac.com. You can visit our website at www.winningmindtraining.com for a list of presentations and courses Brian can offer your organization, staff training function or conference.

 

Is Safety Killing Officers

Let me start by saying I am a huge advocate of safety in training and it is critically important that you have safety rituals in place for conducting reality based training. We must stop killing officers in 'training accidents'. Having said that, I have come to the realization over the years that too many trainers are using 'safety' as a crutch and an excuse not to conduct realistic and potentially life saving training. 

Trainers preach to officers to "never place yourself in a crossfire situation". Avoiding crossfire is sound tactical advice. What if however, the subject places the officers in a crossfire situation? Are the officers prepared to win that fight or are they going to hesitate because of training, or lack there of?In Lakewood, Washington the subject entered the coffee shop intent on killing four officers and created a crossfire situation. In Maryland, a bank robbery suspect leaves a bank with a gun to a hostages head and is challenged by a number of armed officers. When he slips on some ice the hostage runs away and the hostage taker runs into the group of armed officers creating a crossfire situation. An officer is fighting over his weapon with a subject who is attempting to disarm and kill him. Because they are in contact range the cover officer now finds herself in a crossfire situation. In each of these situations the subject's actions created the crossfire situation. The officers did not violate their tactical training and place themselves in this position. These situations often cause officers to hesitate as they have never been trained to shoot effectively at close range or when a crossfire situation exists. 

I believe the solution is simple. Make time in training to address these types of situations. Use plastic training guns and place officers in a variety of situations like the ones above and let them work through the problem. The solution may very well be for one or more of the officers to close the distance and shoot the subject from an inch or two away. The sad reality is that very few agencies in 2011 are teaching this tactic in the academy or at an inservice level. In fact, the closest many officers ever get to a target they shoot is the 3 yard line at the range.

Too many trainers fail conduct training for winning fights when officers are in a crossfire situation and use safety as an excuse. Trainers fail to train officers to shoot someone from inches away and use safety as an excuse. While safety may be a valid reason for not using non lethal training ammunition in some drills it can not be an excuse for failing to provide proper training. 

Trainers use safety as the reason officers are not allowed to move on the range and then wonder why officers fail to move in a gun fight or struggle to draw their gun while they are moving. Trainers use safety as an excuse for why officers are not allowed to pick up a fully loaded magazine if they drop it on the range. As a result some officers are conditioned not to pick up that magazine on the ground that may save their life.

It is time to stop using safety as an excuse. Find a way to conduct safe, effective training that truly gives officers the skills they need to win fights and go home to their families. 

Next week I will look at safety excuses during control tactics training. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Dale Stockton, Travis Yates and myself will be in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 14th teaching a Below 100 Train the Trainer course. The information is below. Registration is free. 

When: July 14, 2011 9:00 AM TO 1:00 PM EST

Where: Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD

            Charlotte Police & Fire Training Academy

            1770 Shopton Road, Charlotte NC

            704/432-1603

Law Officer’s Below 100 initiative aims to reduce the number of LODDs to fewer than 100 in a year. Our profession currently averages approximately 150 LODDs per year. Below 100 identifies the five areas where officers can reduce unnecessary deaths and make a difference, today. This is a train the trainer event, aimed to train, and offer materials to, officers who will return to their departments and effectuate the change of culture necessary to stem the tide of unnecessary officer death.

Refreshments provided. Registration is free.

Register at: http://www.lawofficer.com/Below100Events

About the Presenters:

Dale Stockton is the editor in chief of Law Officer. A 32-year police veteran, Stockton retired at the rank of captain with the Carlsbad (Calif.) PD. He is an internationally recognized leader in LPR technologies.

Capt. Travis Yates of the Tulsa (Okla.) PD is an EVOC instructor and publisher of policedriving.com. He is the 2008 Law Officer Trainer of the Year.

Brian Willis is a veteran of the Calgary police, a prolific author and international trainer and speaker. He is the 2011 Law Officer Trainer of the Year.