OFFICER OVERLOAD:
Are Too Many Responsibilities Compromising Officer Safety?
By Leischen Stelter, Editor of InPublicSafety. com, American Military University
When five police officers in Dallas were killed by a military-trained sniper in July 2016, agencies around the country conducted briefings to discuss ways officers could protect themselves should they find themselves in a similar situation. Now common practice, these briefings are one of the most effective tools for promoting officer safety, allowing agencies to share emerging threats, promote best practices, identify policy issues, and discuss training needs.
FINDING EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT SAFETY
Sergeants generally bear the responsibility of teaching officers how national incidents affect officer safety. Jeremy Nikolow, a graduate of American Military University’ s Criminal Justice program and 11-year officer at a large agency in central Florida, was recently promoted to patrol sergeant. He makes it a point to mention national incidents pertaining to officer safety during his daily briefings. In September, he discussed tactical and safety concerns after three Arizona officers were injured when a man intentionally drove his car into them at a gas station.
“ Those officers were standing in a circle so they had a good 360-degree view,” said Nikolow.“ Sometimes, no matter what you do or how aware you are of your surroundings, you can’ t prevent attacks.”
Incidents like those in Phoenix, Dallas, and Baton Rouge, where officers were targeted for attack, illustrate the inherent dangers of law enforcement. Nikolow believes it is the responsibility of a sergeant to identify officers who may be showing signs of distress.“ Not every officer is able to compartmentalize after an incident. Some really need to sit down and talk it out,” he said.“ It’ s important to recognize those officers and find practical ways to work through it.”
Sergeants are also responsible for conducting debriefings, a practice that has become more common among agencies.“ We debrief now more than we ever did in the past,” said Keith Graves, a police officer for over 28 years and current Criminal Justice student at AMU. Graves is a
Sergeant with the Livermore Police Department in California.“ Whenever there’ s a major call, I like to get people together immediately after to talk about what went right and wrong.”
Sitting down and critiquing an incident also serves as a daily reminder for officers to be aware of their biggest threat: complacency. That’ s something Michael Kashiktchian has already learned in his two years as an officer.
Kashiktchian was hired by the Riverside County( CA) Sheriff’ s Department in 2014, but has only been patrolling on his own as a Deputy Sheriff for eight months. He supplements his experience in the field with public administration classes at AMU. His training regularly reminds him never to make assumptions about what he’ ll be facing.
“ Officers will inherently start developing an idea of what a call is going to be like,” he said. If it’ s a theft, for example, officers might start to think about photographing the scene, collecting information about stolen property, dusting for fingerprints and so forth. Instead, officers should constantly remind themselves that they don’ t know what they’ re walking into and be prepared to use a myriad of techniques and tools.
“ We have a checklist running through our minds, which seems like a constructive practice,” said Kashiktchian.“ But it can lead officers to lower their guard.”
OFFICERS HAVE MORE TOOLS THAN EVER TO KEEP THEM SAFE
Talking about officer safety is nothing new— it’ s always been paramount for law enforcement. What has changed
12 California Police Chief | www. californiapolicechiefs. org