The Technology Crutch

Not too long ago I taught a use-of-force class, and was fortunate enough to have some really sharp officers as students. During one of the sessions, we got to talking about force and control options including what they had and what they wished they had, technology-wise.

As part of the general discussion, I asked the class (rhetorically) how many of their departments included transition drills in their training. When they looked at me sideways, I explained that - to me - a transition drill was one in which an officer has to move from one level of force (or weapon) to another, under stress. The example I gave was moving from an aimed firearm to a non-lethal weapon, such as an electronic control device (ECD).

During one of the breaks, an officer approached me and said that he had asked his department to let him incorporate similar drills into their mix, and he was told that it wasn't necessary, and there wasn't time. Later, I couldn't stop thinking about his comments.

Early and Simple Weapons

Most departments equip their officers with some sort of non-lethal technology nowadays, even if money is scarce. Not everyone has the latest and greatest ECD, but most everyone has some sort of baton, and usually an aerosol weapon. In fact, officers have probably had various impact weapons at their disposal since the first night watchman or Town Crier pinned on a badge.

Along with a firearm, a nightstick or baton (or sap or billy-club) made up the only armament for many generations of officers. Eventually, departments started practicing their shooting skills, but it took quite a bit longer before officers started getting any appreciable training with their "stick". Perhaps bosses believed that it didn't take any skill to hit someone with a club so training wasn't necessary. At any rate, many decades passed before impact weapon training systems became common.

Even then, there wasn't a reduction in the amount of firearms training in order to begin training with the baton - both types of training (using the term a little loosely here) were continued.

The New Age

Along came aerosol weapons, in the form of OC sprays (we're not ignoring earlier products here; just skipping a discussion of them because they weren't that effective, and fell into dis-use). Many departments jumped on-board the new technology as less harmful than hitting someone with a stick. Additionally, and more problematically, some department administrators got the idea that if they adopted an OC weapon they could cut back on defensive tactics and baton training, and some even moved toward dropping their issued impact weapons all together.

From a purely administrative standpoint, the idea made sense. Less harmful and easier to train with, therefore less likely to cause a lawsuit and cheaper to adopt and implement - what's not to like?

Next came electronic control devices. Here some administrators remained concerned regarding all the negative media hype, but others saw the usefulness of the new tools and took the time to do their research. Many adopted ECDs, and more continue to do so.

Following the earlier pattern, some departments still manifest the thought process that they can cut back on other training and use-of-force options, because now they have the newest and best tool. Again, the savings in training time seem to be a no-brainer.

The Technology Problem

The primary problem with this view of technology is that no single tool is the answer. Nothing works all the time, and officers need alternatives for different situations, and back-up options when one of their tools fails. They must be trained in the use of all those tools, and in the decision-making skills that are required to choose among them.

Officers also need training in the skills required to transition from one weapon to another, which sometimes means transitioning from one level of force to another. Consider this scenario: