Behavior Analysis and the Patrol Officer

• NCJ Number: 203787
• Journal: Campus Law Enforcement Journal Volume: 33 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2003 Pages: 32-35
• Author(s): Richard A. Parfitt
• Editor(s): Karen E. Breseman
• Date Published: November 2003
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Training
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines behavior analysis as a tool for law enforcement officers and those training programs which have incorporated observation techniques to aid patrol officers in learning to observe, analyze, and correctly act on human behavior on the street, especially in the practice of officer safety awareness.

Abstract

Behavior is said to be the major phenomenon that the police officer must deal with daily and the diligent patrol officer, when observing a particular behavior will try to determine what the individual is doing. It is necessary for officers to learn to observe, analyze, and correctly act on human behavior to avoid potential civil or criminal liability. Over the years law enforcement training programs have incorporated aspects of observation techniques and refined them to be easily utilized on the street by officers. Before acting on what they observe, an officer must make certain that his/her decisions are objective and based on behaviors that are widely accepted as suspicious or abnormal while being cognizant of the influence of his/her own attitudes and opinions. However, officers must be aware that what they are observing may not always be what it appears. Officers need to be allowed to make assessments which sometimes involve the identification of groups or clusters of behaviors that are suspicious. This type of behavior analysis is typed as similar to profiling. However, profiling has not always been viewed in a favorable light. Racial profiling is where an officer initiated action that relies on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual. Behavior analysis continues to be refined and with proper training patrol officers will find that they will become more effective by making informed and safe stops and arrests of suspicious individuals and experience fewer complaints. References