November 1996 Integrated Use-of-Force Training Program By Brian R. Arnspiger and Gordon A. Bowers, M.A. __________ Realistic scenarios replicate common calls for service and integrate decision-making and technical skills in this training program. __________ Detective Arnspiger is the primary law enforcement trainer for the Burbank, California, Police Department. Captain Bowers commands the Special Operations Division of the Burbank Police Department. __________ Law enforcement use-of-force training traditionally has been rather disjointed. Officers learn shooting as an isolated skill, PR-24 baton qualification occurs annually, handcuffing skills are taught rarely, and defensive tactics training often takes place only to try out a new technique or weapon. Departments frequently depend on field training officers to teach rookies decision-making skills and how to select the appropriate level of force. In addition, most instruction focuses on increasing the efficiency of an isolated element in the force continuum but often fails to demonstrate other techniques, such as verbalization and the use of cover. As demonstrated by recent high-profile cases, law enforcement needs to adopt a training paradigm that encompasses the entire scope of the use of force and that also teaches officers how to present (in reports or courtroom testimony, for example) the rationale and justification for the levels of force they apply. Providing realistic training that covers the full use-of-force continuum, from command presence to deadly force, should be the training objective. Police officers can be thrust into any point on the force continuum without warning. Their training should give them the skills to make and implement appropriate decisions that consider the safety of both officers and subjects, as well as the constantly changing conditions. The training must be realistic, updated regularly, and contain a system of proficiency testing and evaluation. It must include the use of cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitude), and psychomotor (physical) skills. The Burbank, California, Police Department (BPD) developed an integrated use-of-force training program in response to a department-wide assessment of training needs. This article explains the development of the program, reviews two sample scenarios, and describes the department's experiences thus far. It also suggests a direction for future training development and addresses some budget implications of this type of program. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT In a department-wide poll taken in 1993 by the Burbank Police Department's instructional staff, officers expressed a need for more defensive tactics training. Officers reported an initial tendency to back off during field contacts with threatening subjects because they did not feel confident in their ability to address such threats without resorting to deadly force. The instructors then examined the department's reports on incidents in which officers used force. They found that many injuries to officers and subjects occurred because officers did not apply contact and control techniques properly. This information confirmed the need for additional training. Next, the instructors gathered material about numerous training programs throughout the country. They reviewed the programs and evaluated each one to determine whether it met their department's needs. Eventually, staff members designed their own integrated use-of-force training program, drawing on the best components of the courses they had examined. In the summer of 1995, the police department began using its new curriculum. The program employs 15 training scenarios to integrate the following topics: ù Command presence and verbalization (including Verbal Judo) ù Use of cover ù Weaponless defense (emphasizing Krav Maga, an Israeli system of self-defense that enables students to achieve a relatively high level of proficiency within a short period of instruction) ù Chemical weapons ù PR-24 side-handle baton ù Firearms (duty handgun and shotgun) ù Standardized high-risk vehicle stop ù Search of subjects ù Handcuffing techniques (including speedcuffing) ù First aid and CPR ù Officer rescue techniques. This type of training rests on the premise that officers never should face a situation in the field completely unlike anything previously faced in training. Integrated use-of-force training seeks to develop in each officer the knowledge, skills, and techniques necessary to: ù Apply verbalization properly as a tactic to reduce the need for physical force in controlling situations ù Maximize officer and suspect safety through the correct identification and use of cover available to officers during citizen contacts ù Minimize the liabilities associated with the use of force by understanding the available range of possible responses, selecting the appropriate force level, constantly reevaluating the level of force required in a situation, and accurately verbalizing the rationale and justification for each use of force. SAMPLE SCENARIOS The use of scenarios provides a viable system for presenting the entire spectrum of use-of-force training. Each scenario incorporates several topics in a way that gives students practical experience in both critical judgment and technical skills. Simulations replicate many common calls to which officers respond. The following typify the scenarios used in the BPD's program. Ambush In one scenario, two officers in a police car, armed with a shotgun and a handgun, respond to an ambush. They must physically restrain, search, and handcuff a combative suspect, played by a trainer in protective gear. They then rescue an injured officer (a 165-pound drag dummy). The dummy is switched with a training mannequin in full police uniform, and the officers must perform CPR (one or two person) on the rescued officer. At the trainer's discretion, this all might take place under fire, using blanks fired from a specially designed robotic unit. To conclude the exercise, each officer must testify to a court of fellow officers, explaining the rationale for each use-of-force decision throughout the scenario. High-Risk Vehicle Stop A second scenario replicates a high-risk vehicle stop. Three police units, a civilian vehicle belonging to a trainer, and a scrap vehicle donated by a city towing service are used in this exercise, which is conducted on the outdoor shooting range of the Burbank Police Training Facility. Metal pop-up targets activated by compressed air have been installed in both the front and rear seats of the donated scrap vehicle. In a 2-hour session, four to six on-duty officers complete a cycle comprised of three training elements--classroom instruction, two dry runs using inoperative training guns, and one "hot" run using service weapons and live ammunition. In the classroom, instructors introduce the standardized high-risk vehicle stop developed for the department. They emphasize vehicle and officer positioning, individual officer assignments, and the specific techniques needed by each team member to conduct the stop successfully. The officers then practice the stop twice. The practice runs use the three police units and the trainer's civilian vehicle, which is occupied by two or more suspects played by actors. To maximize safety, the students use only inoperative training handguns and shotguns. They rehearse the entire process, including positioning the cars, calling the suspects out of their vehicle individually, positioning suspects properly for the designated arrest officer or team, and bringing suspects back behind the police cars. There, the officers search the suspects, who usually have two or more hidden weapons, and place them into the police units for transportation. If suspects resist, the officers must use the appropriate force to subdue them. For every stage of the scenario--from deploying the officers to preparing the suspects for transport--each officer must verbalize the reason for performing each action or technique, justify any use of force, and discuss tactical considerations. Finally, each team of officers conducts a stop using live ammunition. This time, the scrap vehicle containing pop-up targets serves as the suspect vehicle. Each officer must use the proper verbal commands, as if ordering actual suspects to exit the vehicle. At some time during the verbal commands, one or more steel targets pop up. Each officer must make a shooting decision based on the target presented. (The trainers designate white targets as threats and targets of any other color as innocent victims.) The survival shooting situation adds an element of stress to the scenario. After the hot run, the officers critique their own performances, facilitated by the trainers. RESULTS Course evaluations by the students, including BPD's regular and reserve officers, as well as guest officers from a federal agency, several nearby police departments, and at least one large out-of-state agency, have indicated positive outcomes. Students regularly mention the trainers' enthusiasm, the simple but effective techniques, and the overall value of the training. The realistic integrated use-of-force scenarios have increased officers' confidence in their abilities. This confidence has translated into their handling more field incidents with lower levels of force than before the training. When officers are confronted with a threat, the instructors teach them to move toward the threat and disarm it rather than move away and respond to it. Shortly after receiving this training, a BPD officer used this technique, and it probably saved his life. As the officer spoke with a driver during a traffic stop for an equipment violation, the subject drew a handgun from under the front seat and began turning it toward the officer. The officer immediately moved toward the threat, simultaneously striking an offensive blow and deflecting, then restraining, the gun hand. He disarmed the subject and controlled him until assisting officers arrived. The subject, an armed-robbery parolee with 19 bundles of "flash money" in the car, later admitted he was en route to pull a cocaine rip-off when stopped. This situation clearly could have justified deadly force, and if the officer had made any initial move backward, there would have been no alternative. Because of the officer's immediate reaction to move toward the threat to reduce it, however, he avoided the use of deadly force, not to mention avoiding the potential for injury or loss of life. It is likely that in this situation alone, the entire cost of the integrated use-of-force program was offset by savings from the now-unnecessary shooting investigation, damage claim, administrative hearing, and civil suit. A much more common example occurred just 2 weeks after the training program was initiated. Three officers responded to a domestic violence call, which led to the husband's arrest. As two of the officers moved to restrain the subject's arms, he violently jerked back and began to struggle. The third officer later reported that he "instinctively initiated the three-person take-down," as taught in class, which allowed the subject to be taken immediately into custody with no injury to him or the officers. These two incidents have a common element. The officers took immediate, decisive action when faced with situations they had mastered previously with simple, effective techniques in realistic training scenarios. Based on field successes and positive feedback from the students, the BPD is continuing its integrated use-of-force training program. The course will be offered in 2-hour segments on a bimonthly basis. Topics will rotate so that officers can attend all training elements. Officers must get permission from their supervisors and sign up in advance. Because the sessions last only 2 hours and occur during duty time, officers can attend the training and then return to patrol for the remainder of the shift. The BPD deploys officers in three overlapping 12-hour shifts, which enables supervisors to release two to four officers per shift for training without any adverse effects on field patrol strength. FUTURE DIRECTIONS BPD instructors envision the logical extension of this concept as surprise, on-duty training calls for officers, which will be dispatched as actual calls for service. Upon arrival at the scene, officers will be informed by the training lieutenant that this is a training call. They will exchange their pistols, magazines, batons, and pepper spray for training versions; then they will approach the crime scene and handle the call. The proposed location is a Redevelopment Agency house borrowed for training purposes. Video cameras installed in the house will provide coverage of the porch and entry, living room, and dining room. Role players will be trainers from another agency, so they will be unfamiliar to officers. Possible scenarios include an officer injured in an ambush, a woman giving birth, a drunken father threatening an abused daughter, a PCP-crazed subject harassing others, or any other situation that replicates a real call. At the conclusion of each incident, trainers will debrief the officers and critique the scenario. If the scenario involved the use of serious physical control (e.g., neck res-traint, K-9, impact weapon, focused blows), a cool-down period will be provided prior to the officers' return to field duty. This type of regular practice and evaluation increases officers' effectiveness and confidence in their ability to handle field situations. On-duty training calls are easy to schedule, and both administrators and line officers agree that such calls do not significantly disrupt the department's ability to respond to regular calls for service. BUDGET IMPLICATIONS Because budget constraints have such significant impact on training decisions, the cost for integrated use-of-force training must be addressed. Fortunately for the police department, most of the program's components have not cost any additional money; expenses budgeted for task-specific training simply have been reassigned to the integrated system. For example, the department shifted the funds previously designated for contract first-aid and CPR trainers to the integrated system, which incorporates those topics and uses in-house instructors. Savings in field strength also result from the more efficient use of training time. Rather than have an officer miss an entire shift to attend a first-aid class that might only last for one-half or two-thirds of the shift, the same level of training can take place on duty, leaving the officer available for patrol for the remaining portion of the shift. Overtime costs also can be reduced with the use of this approach. On-duty instructors can conduct training during all three watches, eliminating the need to pay overtime to send all officers to school during the day shift. It is much more efficient to pay an in-house trainer to work several graveyard shifts than to pay the whole graveyard shift to attend a class during the trainer's day shift. This program has not been cost-free, however. The six department instructors attended train-the-trainer courses to become certified to teach the full spectrum of topics included in the integrated program. Certification in Krav Maga, for example, cost $1,200 per instructor. Other start-up expenses included approximately $20,000 for equipment, such as protective gear, sparring equipment, and mats. Although this initial outlay was significant, the long-term savings outlined above have made it worthwhile. One way to reduce the financial impact of any training initiative is to put the program in the hands of an enthusiastic manager. Such individuals are likely to consider innovative solutions and approaches. For example, the BPD has had success with such cost-saving measures as: ù Acquiring asset forfeiture funds to purchase equipment ù Using reserve officers as trainers and role players in the scenarios ù Building a shooting range similar to the FBI's Hogan's Alley, mainly using obsolete movie sets donated by a local film studio ù Sponsoring private training courses at the department's facility in exchange for a few free slots in the classes for BPD trainers ù Getting donations of items, such as free-standing mailboxes and street light poles, to make the outside training setting more realistic. Accountants and budget specialists frequently attack training expenses on the grounds that the bottom line is all that counts. In today's litigious society, civil judgments against individuals and government agencies, particularly for excessive use of force, have reached historic proportions. The true bottom line is that departments cannot afford not to train their employees and train them well. The police department's integrated use-of-force program provides one way to maximize the value of each training dollar spent and to gain the greatest benefit for the employees as well as the agency. CONCLUSION The Burbank Police Department identified and responded to the need for better instruction in the proper use of force and application of defensive tactics. To avoid the pitfalls of traditional training, which teaches skills in isolation, the department's instructional staff designed a program that integrates a variety of skills in realistic simulations of calls for service. Exposing officers to situations that closely replicate what they might face in the field allows them to learn and practice effective responses. In addition to mastering specific techniques, they gain the critical thinking and decision-making skills that shave life-saving seconds from response times. Forcing them to articulate the reasoning behind their decisions also helps officers write accurate reports and give clear, thorough testimony in court. Police training should prepare officers to carry out their duties safely and effectively. The Burbank Police Department's integrated use-of-force training program has enhanced its ability to serve the public with confidence. Sidebar The Krav Maga System of Defensive Tactics The Burbank Police Department incorporates the Krav Maga defensive tactics system into its integrated use-of-force training. Krav Maga, which translates to "contact combat," originally was developed in Israel in the 1950s. A number of law enforcement agencies in the United States have adopted the system. Krav Maga differs from traditional martial arts-based approaches to defensive tactics. It is a modern, reality-based method of training characterized by coherent and logical thinking that builds easy, natural, and practical techniques based on simple movements of the human body. Common principles apply to a variety of scenarios, enabling students to learn the system quickly, retain the techniques after training, and perform them under stressful conditions. The Krav Maga system offers another important feature for law enforcement. Part of the reality-based training focuses on improving the officer's emotional and physical response to danger. Officers develop the ability to recognize danger, react without hesitation, and escalate and deescalate the levels of force used as the situation develops. Krav Maga instruction covers combative subjects, self-defense, weapon retention, impact weapons, arrest and control/officer safety tactics, and empty-hand defenses against armed assailants. For more information, contact the nonprofit Krav Maga Association of America, Law Enforcement Training Division, P.O. Box 8723, Calabasas, California 91372, or phone (818) 223-9451.