By Sergeant (ret.) Don Gulla and Sergeant (ret.) Jonathan Wender, Ph.D., Polis Solutions, Inc.
What would you do to improve defensive tactics training for law enforcement officers? Are you a defensive tactics instructor? Are you an officer who wished they had more or better training? You have an important opportunity to share your opinions and concerns in a confidential survey.
Polis Solutions is requesting officers and trainers from around the nation and abroad to participate in a major survey effort to improve understanding of law enforcement defensive tactics training and how it affects officers’ decisions and actions related to the use of force.
The purpose of this comprehensive survey project is to collect vital information from defensive tactics instructors, trainers and law enforcement officers in support of the Adaptive Defensive and Protective Tactics (ADAPT) program.
ADAPT is being developed by Polis Solutions with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance National Officer Safety Initiatives (NOSI) to evaluate, update and improve defensive tactics training for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies and academies.
To ensure that ADAPT has a strong foundation, we need as much accurate information as possible about existing defensive tactics training. The ADAPT surveys give DT instructors and line officers the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience and to help influence the development of the ADAPT program. All survey responses are completely anonymous and confidential. There is also a voluntary option for officers to provide their contact information and share training materials, critical incidents, helpful tips and techniques, and other data.
- If you are a defensive tactics instructor or trainer, please take this survey: https://tinyurl.com/ADAPTINSTRUCTOR
- If you are a line officer, please take this survey: https://tinyurl.com/ADAPTOFFICER
To learn more about the DT surveys and the ADAPT program, contact the ADAPT team at adapt@polis-solutions.com.