Leave No One Behind: Downed-Officer Rescue and Risk Perception

• NCJ Number: 231009
• Journal: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 79 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 9-14
• Author(s): Matthew D. Sztajnkrycer, M.D., Ph.D.; Bill Lewinski, Ph.D.; Scott Buhrmaster
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines law enforcement officers' perceptions of risk and uncertainty in the context of downed-officer rescue.

Abstract

Results indicate that half of the respondents reported having participated in formal training on downed-officer rescue in the previous 5 years. Ninety-nine advised being personally involved in a downed-officer rescue during the same time frame. The majority of those involved in a downed-officer rescue (44.4 percent) described their primary assignment as patrol. Only nine identified their assignments as a full-time SWAT team member. Law enforcement professionals openly acknowledge the dangers inherent in the performance of their sworn duties; they have come to expect that should they find themselves in life-threatening circumstances, their fellow officers will respond with maximum effort to rescue them. Data were collected from 1,703 law enforcement professionals surveyed over a 1-month period. 1 table and 13 endnotes