Public Attendance at Police Training

[T2C]

I have been asked to schedule time at our local gun club facilities where a Police Agency will hold felony traffic stop force on force simunitions training. It was suggested we invite the media and general public to attend.

Would you view this as a good idea or bad idea? What are the merits or negatives to inviting the general public and media to view the training?

[HardToHandle]

Would you view this as a good idea or bad idea? What are the merits or negatives to inviting the general public and media to view the training?

Downsides
. Minor OPSEC compromise of certian tactics
. Creates documentary evidence of standardized training in the hands of third party
. Some under employed community activist makes a grandstanding show

Upsides
. Transparency or at least the appearance of same
. Earned media opportunity
. Generally good political sense, especially if supported on high

You control the cirriculum, timing, participants and overall environment. The risk seems low and you can avoid most of the OPSEC and disturbance concerns with well crafted safety rules... I have done dozens of similar training exercises and had few negatives.

[HardToHandle]

Did not stress safety enough in previous post. Somebody getting their eye shot out will be a career limiting move. Same if some spectator falls down with fright, has a head injury and your medical response is not well considered.

If your agency does a citizens academy, use that as a base level for creating engagement rules and safety precautions. Double that level of safety for a non screened audience. Force Science may have some materials to work from.

Consider asking attendees to undergo a CCH or at least sign a legal counsel reviewed personal injury waiver if allowed in your state. Also find out if the organizational insurance coverage has specific training requirements for the general public... Sovereign immunity gets mighty thin if you were negligent.

[chuckman]

A local jurisdiction, about 6 years ago, was using a building on a local college campus as a training aid for its tactical team. The building was vacant, the college was going to demolish it, the jurisdiction and college saw the opportunity for "good trainin'." The media was there, many spectators from a hospital upon which the building was attached showed up to watch though not necessarily invited (they weren't turned away, just curious since it went out on email that it was going to happen). A few non-LEO folks with military or LEO experience were asked to participate as booger eaters or hostages. It was well-run, well-received, and did a lot...a LOT...to enhance relationships between the PD and everyone.

[26 Inf]

I have been asked to schedule time at our local gun club facilities where a Police Agency will hold felony traffic stop force on force simunitions training. It was suggested we invite the media and general public to attend.

Would you view this as a good idea or bad idea? What are the merits or negatives to inviting the general public and media to view the training?

I'm in the same situation as HardToHandle, we do dog and pony shows for media and special interest groups all the time.

The main disadvantage that I see is that you are talking training, not demonstrating. I'm not saying this is the case, but if your scenarios are run like 'okay don gear, you be bad guys, you guys be officers, do a felony car stop' there is a good possibility that the results could go sideways, if on the other hand, you are running scripted scenarios, designed which a specific outcome/objective in mind, there is probably little chance of that happening.

Most of the time the media we work with are wanting to get a couple minutes of video for a story they are working on. In those cases there is discussion and almost rehearsal of the questions that will be asked and what they are going to see. Those are generally pretty tight and pleasing to watch when they air.

In other cases we have put the media personality in the scenario with the results being filmed - like most of the ones you've probably seen on TV, the results are generally less than stellar and the viewer/media come away with a new appreciation of how things quickly things happen. It is always good when your community activist hoses the unarmed driver of the car, on camera, as soon as the driver continues to exit the vehicle when told to stay in the car. This caused the guy to publicly (on the TV clip) back down a little on his stance.

What I'm trying to get across is control the process as much as you can, it would be a mistake to just say, 'you guys stand here, put on safety glasses and watch' - we give observers/media an abbreviated version of the same NLTA safety briefing officers receive, we talk about the technology and why it is necessary for them to wear the pro-gear we give them. You also want a SME there to explain to observers and citizens what is going on and why. Above all you want to convey serious professionalism. Always be mindful of the audience.

JM .02

[T2C]

I am retired and not conducting the training, just providing the facility. My first concern was the dissemination of information to non-LEO personnel, but considered transparency may outweigh the risks of the criminal element learning police tactics.

Safety of course is of paramount importance and would be emphasized. Our gun club has a standard release form for people who attend training on our property, so that issue is covered.

For the media and general public to see how quickly a situation can develop and how most encounters rarely go according to plan may be of some benefit. I wanted input from other people outside our area before discussing the issue further with the officer who is scheduling the training.

[HardToHandle]

I
I am retired and not conducting the training, just providing the facility. My first concern was the dissemination of information to non-LEO personnel, but considered transparency may outweigh the risks of the criminal element learning police tactics.

Safety of course is of paramount importance and would be emphasized.

Good due diligence. My opinion is bad guys are more likely to get decent strategic intelligence from reality TV, Cops, etc., than from in person police training opportunities. There is an outlier in every situation, but the PD needs to have a clear OPSEC plan on their part.

[usmcvet]

Sounds like a great opportunity. I think most of the training is open source and online if you spend time to look for it. Not many secrets out there.