De-Escalation Training for Police Officers

Police officers promise to protect and to serve, and to do that successfully, they must be able to de-escalate dangerous situations. Many law enforcement officers wish that they had learned more about de-escalation techniques in their police training, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.

Every police officer should know about the best methods of de-escalation in many different situations. By investing in de-escalation training, law enforcement agencies can keep the public safe and improve employee retention.

Police Departments Should Invest in De-escalation Training

You may have your blue uniform and your badge, but police officers are never fully dressed without a mind full of de-escalation strategies. You might be asked to respond to anything, from a bank robbery to a mental health crisis, but you can stop these situations from escalating into force incidents that result in officer injuries or worse by employing the most appropriate de-escalation techniques you know.

Even if you graduated at the top of your class in a criminal justice program, and even if you have successfully navigated some adverse or demanding circumstances in your law enforcement career, you would benefit from learning more about de-escalation tactics to apply in your interactions with community members or even your colleagues in the field of law enforcement.

How Can Police Officers Learn to De Escalate Tense Situations More Effectively?

The best way to build your de-escalation skills is through an intensive training program that involves simulations and in-person interactions. Online training can also be an effective way to build police de-escalation skills.

The benefits of such training include improved job performance and officer safety. They can even reduce the risk of officer involved shootings and increase voluntary compliance with peace officer standards.

De-escalation Training Should Be a Priority for Law Enforcement Officers

Police officers engage in de-escalation tactics every day, and most of them are not nearly as dramatic as what you might see in the climactic scene of a buddy cop movie or an action film.

The simplest communication skills, such as active listening and body language, are what enable you to serve the public and contribute to public safety. In eight hours on duty, you probably de-escalate numerous situations, whether by simply using your officer’s advantage or by choosing your words and your tone of voice wisely.

With every single citizen encounter, officers are constantly engaging with people who are dealing with stressful situations, whether the stressor is a mental illness or a traffic citation.

Whether you are trying to explain to someone that you have just arrested that he should exercise his right to remain silent instead of debating every complex concept, or whether you are trying to reassure a frantic parent that her teenage child is unlikely to face charges in adult criminal court, officers must create space for others’ emotions while always acting in the interest of public safety.

How Does Police De-escalation Training Work?

Defuse De-escalation Training has developed de-escalation training courses specific to the needs of police officers.

A police officer is likely to encounter many situations in an average workday that require de-escalation, many more than people in many other professions usually face. Therefore, all police officers should have a large repertoire of de-escalation techniques that they can adapt to many different scenarios.

De-escalation is not just about breaking up fights that have already started, and it certainly is not about assuming that the best way to solve a problem is by showing off your weapons. Rather, it is about recognizing other people’s escalation techniques and countering them with your own de-escalation techniques.

Will I Benefit from De-escalation Training As A Law Enforcement Agent?

If you feel that you graduated from the police academy with too much escalation training and not enough facility with de-escalation techniques, the Defuse De-escalation Training is for you.

Police are a point of contact among people who would not otherwise communicate with each other at all. You can further the interests of public safety by enhancing your communication skills.

In our training course, officers will learn about the psychology of confrontation. You will explore scenarios where it is appropriate to address issues directly, besides learning to focus on the end goal and avoid being distracted by emotions or the desire to save face.

In most situations, the use of force by officers is not the only way to protect endangered people from the threat of death or injury. Officers will learn how de-escalation begins long before the crisis that you are summoned to de-escalate.

Defuse De-escalation Training is about looking at the big picture and helping officers prevent the kinds of incidents that lead to frantic 911 calls asking for officers to come to the scene and calm down a potentially deadly situation.

How to Find a Police De-escalation Course

Policemen and policewomen throughout the country can and should take a course on de-escalation. You can take the course in person or online. You will learn about volatile situations that the men and women in blue often encounter at work. You will also learn about the benefits of diffusing conflict in order to prevent violence.

One of the principles of law enforcement is that your goal is to help and protect every person you meet. However, acting on that principle whenever you are on duty is much harder than it sounds.

A cop’s workday is full of conflict and stress; everyone’s problems become your problems. If you are as disturbed as everyone else is about all the use of force incidents that you read about in the news, the best investment you can make is to learn more about techniques for de-escalating conflict.

Successful De-escalation Is a Badge of Honor

In a tense situation, citizens base their attitude towards you on the impression you make within the first few seconds. If you clearly send the message that escalation is not your goal, then the situation could turn out much better than the person’s last encounter with officers who seemed eager to show off their ability to catch bad guys.

Use of force should be an absolute last resort. With proper decision making and communication tactics, you can prevent most incidents of use of force. Resolving a crisis before it devolves into violence requires you to stick to your principles and to apply conflict resolution skills.

Consider that your mission is to address a situation before it becomes a crime. Even when you are dealing with people who distrust you as soon as they see your blue uniform because they have been mistreated by police in the past, you should pay close attention to every interaction.

Treat everyone you meet as a member of your community and communicate with them accordingly.

90 Percent of De-escalation Is Communication

Most people, even if they do not feel anxious when they see cops directing traffic or patrolling a crowded area, react with fear when the blue lights of the police cruiser behind them indicate for them to pull over. People do not like to feel that an authority figure is policing them, even if they have nothing to hide.

Police departments should partner with other agencies to convey important information to the public. Communication is not just about what is being said, but rather who is saying it to whom and in what context. Public messaging is one of the most underrated de-escalation techniques.

De-escalation Training Is Much Less Time Consuming Than You Think

A lot of people complain about not having enough free time, but officers of the law are even busier than most. How do you make time for training in the middle of all of your other responsibilities?

It is in the interest of a police department if all of its officers receive training in how to manage conflicts before they turn into disastrous incidents. One possible solution to this is to choose an asynchronous training program. Over a period of several weeks, you can have each officer complete the training in small increments over several shifts.

Defuse can develop a specialized course for your police department that addresses issues that the officers in your city have been facing. We can even make a course that includes one-on-one coaching for policemen and policewomen in supervisory roles, in addition to the training course in which every officer participates.

Contact Defuse De-escalation Training About the Best Training Course for You

If you are an aspiring officer looking to build your conflict management skills, then training in de-escalation methods is a wise move. Every officer can find a training program that meets his or her needs or the needs of the department.

Defuse will meet you where you are and build on the skills you already have. In one-on-one coaching or asynchronous online training, you get to work at your own pace.

Our training is not something you can pass or fail. It is simply a matter of starting where you are and getting better at your job. Improvement, not competition, is the goal of Defuse sessions for officers of the law. We also offer training for other professions.

The first step to a safer city and a less stressful job in law enforcement is to contact Defuse. Get in touch with us to choose the best training for you.