Every day, officers across America go on routine and non-routine calls for service. Following most calls, we tell amazing war stories, and terrible jokes, and re-live the moment with fellow officers.
Unfortunately, all too often we miss the opportunity to train and improve because the call for service doesn’t require a formal debriefing. The next time you have a serious call, rather than making small talk, take a few minutes to train and discuss the following:
- Were we mentally prepared for this call?
- Were there any moments where we could have communicated more effectively?
- What strategies or tactics were successful, and which ones could be improved?
- What were the key lessons learned from this experience?
- How can we apply the lessons learned to improve future performance
This only takes a few moments and you may be surprised what you learn from it. Always keep preparing so we can do our best to keep the public safe and send everyone home each night.
