Police Officer Survival Guide

Police Officer Survival Guide – To Be Armed Off Duty

A dilemma for officers is whether to be armed off duty or not. Statistics on assaults against off-duty officers are given in a publication released...
Best Practices by Amaury Murgado

Best Practices: Goal-Oriented Training

Many in law enforcement view training as something to try to get out of. Since it’s often seen as a necessary evil, it’s always...
Combating Conditioned Hesitation

Combating Conditioned Hesitation

To survive confrontations in the kill zone, officers must overcome second-guessing and act quickly and decisively. This article is about combating conditioned hesitation. There are...
Hank Hayes of No Lie Blades

Using an Assailant’s Aggression to Your Tactical Advantage

In all areas of life where people are involved there is an emotional, mental and physical aspect to it. In a combative encounter we...
Best Practices by Amaury Murgado

Best Practices: Responding vs Reacting

At face value, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the words responding and reacting. However, if you take a moment to look...
Frank Borelli and Borelli Consulting

Is Your Firearms Training Complete

Do you remember your police academy firearms training? During the summer of 1986, at the local county police academy, a basic recruit class enjoyed...
Michael Sullenger

Law Enforcement Training and Use of Force

Introduction Police officers must use force when placing uncooperative subjects under arrest, as well as during situations of unrest (e.g. riots, protests where property is...
Loren Christensen

Control Fear with Knowledge

“I was parked on a side street writing a report when dispatch gave the neighboring car a call in my district. ‘See the bartender...
Best Practices by Amaury Murgado

Best Practices: Teamwork Minus the B.S.

We live in an age of political correctness where saying the right things seems to have more value than doing the right things. People...
Police Officer Survival Guide

Police Officers Survival Guide – Staying Alive on the Job

Tom Kohl's Police Officers Survival Guide was written to help educate police officers on staying alive on the job as a police officer. Tom Kohl...
Stripes and Bars by Amaury Murgado

Stripes and Bars: Lead, Don’t Blame

WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG at an agency, administrators go into self-preservation mode. This, in turn, has a cascading effect all the way down to...
Stripes and Bars by Amaury Murgado

Stripes and Bars: Maintaining Focus

IF YOU ARE A STAR WARS FAN, you might remember that in Episode I, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn tells young Anakin Skywalker, "Always remember,...
Police Officer Survival Guide

Police Officer Survival Guide – Where Crooks Get Guns

A year long study was made by the Dallas Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in which recovered guns that...
Stripes and Bars by Amaury Murgado

Stripes and Bars: Don’t Be An Idea Person

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF IDEAS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. However, there is a shortage of people who will actually implement them. In today's world,...
Best Practices by Amaury Murgado

Best Practices: Stress Management

Stress is an officer’s number one nemesis. During a call, it creates automatic psychological and physiological responses that reduce your effectiveness. Too much stress...
Best Practices by Amaury Murgado

Best Practices: Effective Decision-Making Based on Defining the Problem

Effective decision-making involves starting out with the right mindset. Decision-making is a basic skill common to all law enforcement officers regardless of position or rank....