NCJ Number
208785
Journal
Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 54-56
Date Published
February 2005
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article notes that veteran officers increase their risk of injury and death when they become complacent and overconfident about their experience in assessing the risks of a situation; suggestions are offered for overcoming this condition.
Abstract
The average length of service for a police officer who was killed in the line of duty between 1991 and 2002 was 10 years. The primary reasons for this statistic could be labeled the "faceless cop killers." These "killers" are complacency, assumptions, and prejudgment regarding the low risk posed by a "routine" call or traffic stop. Basic law enforcement training teaches that there are only two types of stops: "high risk" and "unknown risk." The first step in preventing a lapse into assuming that a stop or a call is "low risk" or "routine" is to engage in an honest and frank evaluation of oneself. This means that even a veteran officer must constantly examine his/her mindset regarding alertness, casualness, and prejudgments about situations and individuals. The second step is to develop action plans designed to change complacency and the tendency to prejudge situations. This may mean cultivating the mindset that each encounter is potentially life-threatening. Police agencies also have the responsibility to ensure that experienced officers do not lapse into the condition of "faceless cop killers." Continuing training for veteran officers must teach them to always guard against specific attitudes and mental conditions that may place them at risk of not being prepared to counter a threat.