Editor’s note: This article is part of Police1’s Officer Safety Week, which examines how real time crime centers, crime analysis centers and connected law enforcement partners help investigators reconstruct events, develop leads and identify connections among crimes that cross jurisdictional lines. Thanks to our Officer Safety Week sponsor, Safariland.
Every uniformed officer must actively fight the natural tendency to become complacent. Complacency is not an option in our profession because, in an instant, a uniformed officer on patrol may find themselves facing any of the following:
A — An ambush
L — Lawlessness
E — Emergencies
R — Resistance
T — Terror (such as an active shooter)
Any officer will be looked to for leadership in a crisis. Therefore, while in uniform, you must develop the discipline of constantly shucking off complacency while remaining street alert.
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Thirteen circumstances that breed complacency
These thirteen circumstances are like petri dishes for breeding complacency.
1. Alarms
“False alarms” happen so often that some officers assume all alarms are false until proven otherwise. This places an officer at a disadvantage when facing a criminal who knows the alarm is real. This tactical inequity can be rectified simply by choosing to respond to every alarm as if it is a crime in progress.
Believing an alarm is “false” presents a true threat. Respond to all alarms as if they are a crime in progress, and be alert!
2. The drive home
Often in the past, officers still in uniform and on their way home from work have stopped for a gallon of milk, only to walk in on a robbery in progress.
When off duty but still in uniform, be alert!
3. Extra assignments
Officers have a tendency to look at extra assignments as “overtime” and nothing else. Fight the relaxed state of mind that accompanies the perception of big money/little risk that can come with overtime.
Extra assignments require an extra effort to be ALERT!
4. “Minor violation” vehicle contacts
A street officer makes countless vehicle contacts for minor violations. This repetition can lead to complacency.
Remember, even dangerous criminals drive cars whose taillights burn out. You never know what peril lies hidden in the vehicle you are approaching.
During every vehicle contact, take a moment on the approach to make certain you shift from complacency to caution. Pause in a tactically superior position to account for the hands of the occupants and conduct a plain-view search of the vehicle.
On every vehicle contact, account for the hands, scan the interior and be alert!
5. Compliant suspects
A criminal in prison may be taught by old pros to be friendly and cooperative with cops because this can lower their guard and make them more susceptible to deceit and assault.
Meet friendly compliance with friendly caution, and be alert!
6. Break time
Police officers in uniform in public can’t just relax. Consider taking breaks out of the public eye, such as enjoying a bagged lunch with your fellow officers in the department’s break room or even getting in a quick workout in the department’s weight room.
7. Restaurants
Relaxing in restaurants is not practical for the uniformed officer. However, if you choose to do so, be alert!
8. Screen time
Nothing this side of a gunfight or a vehicle pursuit creates a more debilitating case of tunnel vision than personal screen time. The screen world will effectively block out the real world.
When you catch yourself consumed by your screen, break up your tunnel vision. Look left, look right, look behind you, look high and look low.
Get your head out of your apps! Look up and look out. Be alert!!!
9. “He’s been searched.”
When you hear, “He’s been searched,” as you are being asked to transport a prisoner for someone else, search them again. You will be amazed at what you find on suspects who have reportedly been “already searched.”
When you are asked to transport someone who has been “searched,” search them again, and be alert!
10. Assigned to the perimeter
There is a tendency for officers to be more relaxed about being assigned to the perimeter. This is not warranted because there are many examples of a perimeter being suddenly and violently breached from the outside or the inside, whether at a parade or a SWAT standoff.
The real action is often found on the perimeter, so be alert!
11. Non-emergency handling of a firearm
Too many law enforcement-related deaths over the years have occurred during the non-emergency handling and maintenance of weapons. Many incidents occur when experienced officers and even instructors have become complacent in the handling of weapons.
The best advice to avoid this sad occurrence is to stop and think about what you are about to do when handling a weapon in a non-emergency situation, and then proceed with caution.
While handling weapons in non-emergency situations, first STOP AND THINK about what you are about to do, and as you proceed, be alert!
12. Assigned to non-street jobs or low-crime areas
No matter what your job description or how low crime is in your area of responsibility, if you are the one in uniform, to put it simply, when bad things happen, good people are going to look to you to save them, and bad people are going to look to you as an obstacle.
Wearing the uniform, no matter the assignment, requires you to pay attention to duty, so be alert!
13. Repeated calls
When you have been to a residence repeatedly and managed to establish a rapport while successfully navigating the problems generated by these dysfunctional people, you may develop an “I can handle this” attitude that breeds unwarranted complacency.
Realize familiarity breeds complacency, so resist it and be alert!
Conclusion
You know, a sergeant once told me something that stuck with me as he positioned me on a perimeter during a silent alarm. Sarge said, “Now cover this corner and be alert! Everyone loves A Lert!” So, if you want to live long and be loved in this profession, don’t be complacent. Be A Lert!
