The Shift Briefing Series is designed to provide law enforcement officers with short training videos that will help make them smarter, safer and more efficient in daily operations and when responding to critical incidents. The videos address key components of the Top 20 Concepts, a class I created and have presented around the country since 2011. The class addresses 20 foundational concepts in law enforcement that are based in law, policy and ethics, are repeatable and defensible, and assist with critical incident decision-making. Group discussion questions are listed after each video to help solidify the topics and ensure the application is in line with your department’s mission and values.
This Shift Briefing video addresses one of the most important law enforcement concepts used by officers around the country, the Safety Priorities, sometimes referred to as the Priorities of Life: hostages, innocent citizens, LEO and the subject/suspect.
This concept is foundational to tactical decision-making and can be used to inform the decisions made during incident response. When to make entry into a house, whether to use chemical agents during crowd management, and how to act when responding to a suicidal subject are all decisions made easier through consideration of the Safety Priorities.
This video will help viewers understand the concept and how to properly apply it on the street. This concept should be understood by all personnel levels at your agency as it can drive education of the public, inform policy decisions and reduce liability risks.
Questions to consider
1. What is the difference between “value” and “priority”? Why is it important to know that difference when explaining this concept?
2. How can you use this concept to help educate the community where you work and what are the benefits from doing this education?
3. How are the Safety Priorities applied at a traffic stop, domestic violence call, barricaded subject, robbery in progress and hostage rescue? What other calls does your agency handle where the Safety Priorities would be applicable?
4. What can you do as an LEO to prepare yourself for the time when you are risking your life for someone who is a higher priority?
5. How do you use the Safety Priorities to help guide your decisions when addressing a suicidal subject call?
6. How are the Safety Priorities integrated into your department’s decision-making process, policies, tactics and procedures?
Next Shift Briefing: LE response to suicidal subjects
