Editor’s note: This article is part of Police1’s Officer Safety Week, which examines how everyday habits like communication, situational awareness, positioning, backup and clearly defined roles help officers stay a step ahead when a routine call becomes anything but routine. Thanks to our Officer Safety Week sponsor, Safariland.
Officer safety depends on more than recognizing threats. It requires sound decision-making, the ability to adapt as circumstances change and the skills to respond effectively under pressure. But are officers getting the preparation they need?
For Officer Safety Week, Police1 asked two experienced instructors from the Safariland CADRE to share the training mistakes they repeatedly encounter, the practices that concern them and the changes they believe could improve officer preparedness.
| DOWNLOAD: 5 officer safety conversations to have with your team
Meet the instructors
Paul Costa is an active-duty law enforcement officer with more than 19 years of experience. His background includes SWAT, service as a U.S. Marshals task force officer, special operations canine handling and law enforcement instruction. He is also a member of the Walther Arms Pro Staff.
Rick Hogg is a 29-year U.S. Army Special Operations combat veteran with 13 combat deployments. His background includes military canine handling and instruction at the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course. Through his Project Officer Survival program, he provides training focused on improving law enforcement performance, decision-making and survivability.
Learn more about Paul Costa and Rick Hogg through their Safariland CADRE profiles.
What officer safety mistakes do you find yourself correcting again and again?
Paul Costa: As generations of officers pass through the profession, the issues I find myself addressing tend to evolve. However, with the current generation of officers, one of the most concerning trends I’ve observed is a growing reluctance to make decisions and take ownership of those decisions, regardless of the outcome.
There seems to be a noticeable decline in confidence, decisiveness and the willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions. Today’s officers are increasingly influenced by the fear of litigation, public scrutiny and the news cycle. Rather than focusing on managing the problem directly in front of them, too many are preoccupied with how their decisions might be perceived or scrutinized after the fact.
In my opinion, this has created a generation of officers who are often less confident and, in some cases, less capable of managing resistance, confrontation and adversity than officers were two decades ago.
I believe there are several contributing factors behind this shift. It isn’t necessarily a failure of the individual officer, but rather a combination of changes in the culture of policing, training philosophies, leadership, accountability and the expectations placed on today’s law enforcement professionals.
Ultimately, officer safety requires the ability to recognize a problem, make sound decisions under pressure and act with purpose. Indecision can be just as dangerous as making the wrong decision. Officers need to understand that they will never have perfect information in an imperfect environment. They must develop the confidence to make reasonable decisions, take ownership of their actions and trust the training and fundamentals they’ve worked to develop.
Rick Hogg: Not mastering their craft. Law enforcement officers are expected to do a lot but are very undertrained. Officers need to invest in themselves physically and mentally and have a dry-fire training program.
Mindset is another issue. Every call you have to be prepared to use deadly force because you don’t know how the call will play out. Officers also have to take in the whole environment as they approach the scene.
What recurring mistakes do you see involving positioning, distance, movement or maintaining options as an encounter develops?
Paul Costa: Ultimately, this boils down to a few things. Officers often lack the experience, individual capability and commitment necessary to truly understand how violent encounters unfold and what is required to either manage, neutralize or de-escalate a problem.
No scenario-based training program, regardless of how well designed, can provide enough depth or repetition to fully prepare an officer to recognize when to push the tempo, when to slow things down or how to adapt as an encounter evolves. Those abilities require more than simply attending department training. They require an individual commitment to developing a deeper understanding of human behavior, physical performance, decision-making and the realities of violent confrontations.
A lack of individual capability and situational awareness is often a major contributing factor when these encounters go badly. Conversely, when they go well, I sometimes believe we give ourselves too much credit. Sometimes things work out because of luck, favorable circumstances or simply because the opposition wasn’t as committed as the officer.
One of the bigger problems I see today is that many officers approach this profession as just another job. They clock in, complete their assignments, attend whatever training their department provides and expect that to be sufficient preparation for the responsibilities they’re carrying. It’s no different in mindset than showing up for a shift waiting tables at Ruby Tuesday.
The reality is that no matter how progressive, well-funded or committed an agency is to training, it will never be enough to prepare an individual for every possible confrontation. Departments have a responsibility to provide quality training, sound leadership and the resources necessary for their officers to succeed. However, the individual has an equally important responsibility to take ownership of their own development.
Although I believe many departments are falling short in the depth and quality of training they provide, we also have to recognize that institutional training alone will never solve this problem. Officers must develop the individual capabilities necessary to recognize changing circumstances, manage distance and positioning, maintain options and make sound decisions under pressure.
You cannot expect an agency to manufacture competence for you. It has to be developed through individual commitment, deliberate practice and a genuine understanding of the profession you’re asking to perform.
Rick Hogg: Officers frequently position themselves too close to suspects. This can stem from inadequate training and a lack of meaningful after action reviews that identify what went well and where improvements are needed for the future.
What warning signs should prompt an officer to slow down, create distance, reposition or request additional resources?
Rick Hogg: It’s all about reading the suspect and situation. Most officers can see the signs that the situation is starting to deteriorate but fail to act on those indicators and get into a better position or situation.
Officers know what compliant and noncompliant looks like. They need to act accordingly to the situation.
When multiple officers are involved in an encounter, what communication or coordination failures do you see most frequently during training?
Rick Hogg: Officers and agencies don’t typically have a standard operating procedure (SOP) for situations. A prime example is designating a “downrange” side when dealing with a vehicle stop so there is no crossfire.
Are there training practices or habits that unintentionally reinforce behaviors that don’t translate well to unpredictable real-world encounters?
Rick Hogg: Unfortunately, some training environments treat officers like children on the firing range, even though they are expected to carry a loaded firearm, and make sound decisions, for the other 364 days of the year. Training often focuses on compliance rather than understanding officers may be told what technique or procedure to use without being taught why it matters, when it applies, or how it should adapt to changing circumstances. In many agencies, questioning the instructor is discouraged, and “do what I tell you” becomes the default response. That approach can unintentionally reinforce rigid, context dependent habits that may not translate well to unpredictable real world encounters.
If an agency could devote just 10 minutes of roll-call training to improving officer safety, what fundamental would you recommend practicing, and why?
Paul Costa: Ten minutes before a shift isn’t much time to meaningfully develop an individual’s overall skill set across all the disciplines required to be a competent law enforcement officer. However, there is one critical area where ten minutes of consistent, purposeful practice can make a measurable difference: firearms proficiency.
I would recommend implementing a structured dry-fire program conducted under proper safety procedures, with all live ammunition removed from the training area and possibly a designated training pistol used when appropriate. Ten minutes per day, or at least four times per week while at work, dedicated to reinforcing core firearms fundamentals and other essential performance tasks can have a tremendous impact over time.
The key is consistency and purpose. This shouldn’t be ten minutes of mindless repetition just to check a box. It should be a deliberate practice session with specific objectives, an understanding of what the officer is trying to accomplish and an emphasis on identifying and correcting deficiencies.
We often overcomplicate training while overlooking the value of consistently reinforcing the fundamentals. An officer doesn’t necessarily need another elaborate scenario or a complicated training evolution. Sometimes they need to spend ten minutes developing the skills they will depend on when the stakes are highest.
If an agency can create a culture where officers dedicate ten minutes to purposeful dry-fire practice before their shifts, that investment can compound over weeks, months and years. Ultimately, improving an officer’s individual proficiency can make a meaningful difference when their life, or someone else’s, depends on their ability to perform.
Rick Hogg: I would have numerous skills that I would work. These include dry-fire training, tourniquet application, cuffing techniques and something defensive tactics-related that does not require a big setup, like gun takeaways.
If you had five minutes with a group of patrol officers before their next shift, what is the one thing you’d want them to remember?
Rick Hogg: You’re in a job that will kill you! You have to put the time into yourself. Be physically fit, train your hands and defensive tactics, have a dry-fire training program and a way to record your progress, like using The Firearms Training Notebook.
