Snakes? No.

Spiders? No.

It is Interpersonal Violence.

This can range from someone being verbally aggressive towards you, (imagine your boss yelling at you), and ranging up to inflicting lethal violence upon another, or having violence inflicted upon you by another. The closer the range, the more that the participants can recognise the humanity of each other, and the more likely it will be that serious and possibly long-term  stresses can result.

So how is this relevant to Police?

Does your training, the training that is meant to save your life, include the massive stressors that will occur in real life? When your body literally shuts down, you soil your pants, and cannot think straight?

How are you meant to achieve the complex physical movements of defending yourself when under extreme stress, when your “training” consists of practicing the movements once or twice without stress?

The blindingly obvious answer is, you cannot. You cannot perform the movements, the drills you have been deemed “competent” on, when facing Interpersonal Violence.

This is not myth, but scientific fact, backed up by research going back to the American Civil War. For a better understanding of this, and its impact upon Police, read Lt Col Dave Grossman’s work, On Combat, and On Killing.

So what can we do? Train more, demand more / better / relevant training. Do your own research to understand what will happen to you when facing violence. Prepare.

WY6

How can we prepare?

Training – Take every opportunity to increase your skills. Demand more frequent, more relevant, and more advanced training from your employer. You may also consider utilising your own money to invest in better skills. It is your life we are talking about.

Mindset – Prepare yourself mentally, to respond adequately to critical incidents. Go through “what if” scenarios with yourself and your colleagues.

Research, train, and do not become complacent. If you have a ballistic  vest, wear it.

All of these are simple things you can do to Watch Your 6.

WY6.

For any “First Responders” who enroll, the cost will be 2 spots for the price of 1. However, you will need to articulate WHY you want to enrol in this course. This offer is available for a total of 4 spots, so be quick.

Details of the ISR PM course here.

Additionally, some of the profits from this course will be donated to cancer research.

Not only will you be saving yourself, but someone else. Even if you cannot take advantage of this offer, I ask that you share it with your colleagues and friends.

WY6

WY6

Do we mean to “Cover Your Arse”? A bureaucratic process whereby you don’t put your name to any decision, and try to hide in the background.

Do we mean to blame everyone else for whatever mistakes occur?

Do we mean to ensure you write down every single little thing that is said, in case you are questioned on a conversation ten years down the track?

No, we are talking about the oft-neglected skill of looking over your shoulder; To be situationally aware; To not focus solely on what is right in front of you, but seeing everything.

We are not issued with a crystal ball, nor are we provided with eyes in the back of our heads. It is up to you to know what is going on behind you, literally.

We are also referring to the attitude, the mind-set, of preparing yourself to be able to deal with the worst-case scenario. Your employer will prepare you to a competent standard to deal with the best-case scenario. We know that worse things will happen.

Knowledges, fitness, skills; They all play an important part, but the single most important factor in ensuring you go home alive at the end of your shift is your attitude.

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to take down every person you deal with, and be prepared to do it. As Chris from PFC Asia-Pacific refers to it, be the predator not the prey.

Watch Your 6.

There are some strange comments in the article, based out of ignorance rather than anything else. Our input is this:

Firstly, ties are silly. They serve no benefit to operational Police. They are suited for an office environment, not the streets. A tie by itself does not instantly make you look more professional.

Second, tattoos. Some people think that visible tattoos are not suited to Police. We believe, as long as it is not obviously offensive, and not on the face, neck and hands, then tattoos are acceptable. Again, not having tattoos do not instantly make you appear more professional.

Third, appearance. This is what truly matters. Ties and lack of tattoos do not make up for slouching, un-ironed uniforms, bad posture, unshaven faces, sixty-seven earings or poorly maintained beards.

Police Officers are meant to give the appearance of being an authority on everything, assertive without being aggressive, all-knowing, all-powerful, capable of leaping over tall buildings while calmly talking kindly to little old ladies and children.

The biggest factor for this appearance is not actually the uniform that an Officer wears. It is a combination of mind-set and fitness.

Keep your “game face” on when on-duty, at all times. And maintain your fitness and health at an operational level.

For those of you looking for that “perfect” guide to operational fitness and health, the best option out there is Crossfit and the Paleo Diet, both of which recommend the other.

I now hear people asking, “What is my ‘game-face’?”

It means you are watching your 6.

WY6

There was no attempt by the Officer to deny the speed. The entire Court decision was regarding whether the Police Officer had an exemption under Rule 305 of the Australian Road Rules, “Exemptions for Drivers of Police vehicles.”

Short story – There is no requirement for a Police Officer to specify exactly what he / she was doing when exceeding the speed limit at a particular time or place.

In this matter, the Police Officer had no memory of the incidents. Due to that, he was not able to specify what he was doing at the time. His only defence was that the incidents must have occurred in the “execution of his duty”.

There are numerous court cases in Australia of Police being charged for exceeding the speed limit, and having the charges dismissed, for matters such as:

Obtaining witness statements;
Attending an established Crime Scene;
Speeding up to randomly check vehicle registration plates / labels;
Returning to the Station to collect equipment.

We know Police have exemptions when exceeding the speed limit, and yet too many Police are getting into trouble for trying to make up incidents to justify their speed. You won’t be sacked for being 10-20kms over the speed limit, but you can be sacked for lying about it.

Tell the truth, and do your research. Pages 16 & 17 of the August 2009 QPol Union Journal also has some more legal decisions that relate directly to Police justifying their exemptions whilst driving.

Do not lie, just tell the truth, and seek the assistance of your Union / Association. The law is actually on your side.

Watch Your 6.

Firstly, we see an incident where a Police Officer could not defend himself from being assaulted by a 14 year-old girl.

Second, we see an off-duty Police Officer being assaulted by two persons when he tried to intervene in an offence.

Third, we see on-duty Police being suspended for an alleged assault.

Do we see a trend here?

When Police are not adequately  trained in Use of Force techniques, two things happen. They are not able to adequately defend themselves, and sometimes they use too much force, with the best of intentions, that is both illegal and also hurts the image of other Police.

Use of Force techniques are the single most important physical skill that any Police Officer should be trained in.

So why aren’t they?

Demonstrating a skill in a comfortable stress-free setting once, maybe twice, a year does not amount to being trained in a skill.

It’s only your health and safety, and perhaps your freedom, that we’re talking about. What are you doing about this? What is your Union / Association doing about this?

Watch Your 6.

Firstly, we need to improve our training, (not qualifications), to be more relevant to the real world.

Second, we need to improve our critical incident debriefing process, that includes input from everyone involved.

Training shortcomings that threaten survival
Too much static, straight-on shooting during training does nothing to help officers survive a dynamic gunfight. If you have never drawn your weapon while moving laterally or forward and back, chances are you will remain a stationary target or have trouble drawing while trying to move. Remember, panic is the absence of training. Regarding “verbal traps,” I’ve found that the reason officers stand there and “verbalize them to death” is that in all too many shoot/don’t shoot training scenarios the instructor has the role player obey proper commands. Thus the officer in training develops a false sense of security that real-life offenders will obey. Training must re-create, to the best of our abilities, real-life situations and in real life there are people intent on killing us.
Ptl. Rich Stanton
Sr. firearms instructor
Boston PD SWAT

Focus on improvement, not castigation
Officers and supervisors need to evaluate handling of real-life events with a critical eye. Do we have the skills and fortitude to recognize mistakes have been made and take corrective actions? Consider the Navy Blue Angels flight team. At the end of every flight, there is a debriefing in which rank is taken off the table and every member can feel safe to do self-criticism or constructive criticism of another team member. Law enforcement needs to adopt this same mentality where pre- and post-performance is evaluated with a critical eye, with the focus on improvement rather than castigation or discipline. Also think about training in triads. Instead of using the common approach of having 1 officer role play the part of the trainee and another the part of the suspect, add a third to act as a coach to give immediate feedback. Rotate positions so that each person plays each part. This increases skills, retention, and abilities dramatically.
Lt. Curtis Cope (ret.)
Consultant/Expert Witness/Master Instructor
Huntington Beach, CA

Watch Your 6.

Content:

History and Origins of ISR Matrix
Strategic Point of View & Trained Course of Action
Overview of the ISR Matrix PM, LE and AF systems
Overview of the ISR training methodology

Physical options:
Helmet – the primary interceptor and covered entry
Dive – the secondary interceptor
Arm Drag and Seatbelt- outflanking to a dominant position
2 on 1 – minimum custody escort hold
Wrist Weave – functional alternative to wrist locks
Harness and harness take down – controlling the torso and resolution for cuffing
Shake the Blanket – brother technique to the harness
Underhook and Pike
Triple threat takedowns
Knee and ankle trip
S Position resolution
Arm wrap (Day 3)
Rides, not hooks (Day 3)
Handlebar (Day 3)
Full integration, escalation & de-escalation options
Multiple opponent applications
Progressive exposure to full alive resistance
Team control tactics (Day 3)

This session is suitable for private security, Police, Corrections, Military, grapplers, martial artists and select civilians seeking self defence applications. From those with no exposure to ISR through to those currently enrolled in our Instructor Development Program – you will benefit from this program!

2/3 day rates:
$299/399 standard rate
$299/349 discounted rate for Defence, Police, Corrections, Border Protection

Early bird discounts apply.

Contact info@isrmatrixaustralia.co​m to enrol. Limited slots available.