California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2019_Spring Magazine- FINAL | Page 33

We implemented training in three
phases.
PHASE 1: An interactive
presentation on De-escalation
concepts/strategies. This presentation
was 2-3 hours in length and covered
the most basic principles of de-
escalation: Time-Talk-Tactics. This
was an important phase as we had to
dispel many myths associated with the
de-escalation process; such as officers
must compromise officer safety in
order to effectively de-escalate a
situation. In reality, de-escalation
concepts should increase officer safety
and the safety for the subject(s) in
crisis. It’s a win/win scenario.
We ensured officers were speaking
a common language. The end goal
of phase #1 was to increase officers’
awareness, provide methods of how to
build confidence in tools and tactics,
and proficiency in de-escalation tactics
overall.
PHASE 2: A review of de-escalation
concepts by reviewing video of critical
incidents. Officers were teamed up
in groups, shown a video of a person
in crisis/critical incident involving
a law enforcement contact. After
the video each officer group had to
critically debrief the content of the
video, making suggestions on how to
effectively de-escalate the situation
while also considering officer safety
strategies. The video debrief allowed
officers to compare/contrast tactics/
tools in order to evaluate effective
de-escalation strategies. Additionally,
we presented a discussion with
the officers regarding our agency’s
tools available for use during critical
incidents.
PHASE #3: Focused on scenario
training. We constructed various
scenarios with role players. Officers
had to use de-escalation concepts from
Phase 1, knowledge of tools/resources
from Phase 2, and employ de-
escalation techniques with role players
simulating critical incidents.
Officers were put into patrol teams
and a simulated dispatcher-initiated
calls to officer groups. Officers were
dispatched in a phased manner
depending on the nature of the call.
Once officers arrived on scene, they
had to use all available resources as
if it were a real incident. Officers had
to balance de-escalation concepts and
use time, tools, and tactics to de-
escalate the incident. Communication
ques were predetermined with role
players so if the officers mishandled
the situation the scenario would
escalate and vice versa. Concluding
each scenario, the officer group would
debrief the incident and discuss their
de-escalation effectiveness.
One scenario was established as
a failure scenario. No matter how
effective the de-escalation tactics
employed by the officers, the situation
was elevated to a use-of-force
encounter. The purpose behind this
scenario was to reinforce officer safety
principles and remind officer not all
situations can be de-escalated.
In conclusion of our training,
officers responded positively. Officers
reported a boost in confidence with
their systems and abilities and
expressed a desire to continue with
more training in the future. Moving
forward with our De-escalation
Training, we have included an
introduction of de-escalation concepts
with recruits in our Field Training
Program, began using monthly “Roll-
Call” de-escalation training, and also
now internally track the de-escalation
of incidents by use of our Use of
Force form. De-escalation is not new
to law enforcement but is a principle
that must be revisited, understood,
and trained regularly in order to
effectively protect the public and our
officers from the many encounters
they face daily. ■
SPRING 2019 | California Police Chief
33