Mentally, I think of tactics and techniques as tools in a toolbox. Adding new tactics and techniques gives you more tools to choose from. The toolbox can get bigger as you add tools, but as it grows some tools take longer to dig out than others. The more you use a tool the more proficient you become and the faster you can get to it. So important tools that you don’t use often, like specialized tactics or shooting a gun, need to be practiced regularly to keep them sharp and handy.

No Perfect Police Tactics or Techniques

There is no perfect tool. They all have strengths and weaknesses. It is up to the officer to recognize when to use a tool based on the circumstances and goals they want to accomplish.

Over time criminals adapt to tactics and techniques forcing us to improve our tools or create new ones. This is difficult for some officers because they become conditioned to using a particular tool and often continue using it even when it doesn’t work well anymore.

Explained in terms of the OODA cycle, the officer doesn’t reorient himself to the new circumstances. Instead he assumes his initial orientation is still correct and moves directly to the action stage, which causes ineffective or at least diminished results. This also allows the criminal to get ahead in the cycle. Continue Reading