Police Defensive Tactics & Subject Control

Subject

Police Defensive Tactics & Subject Control

Topic

Use-of-Force

Class Level

All Levels

Pre-Requisites

Students must be healthy and relatively fit (able to pass a Participant Screening Test)

Students must complete and sign a student waiver form.

If the student has any health or physical limitations, they will require medical approval before attending the training.

Description

In many high-risk professions, it may become necessary to apprehend, restrain and arrest a resistive or aggressive subject. This requires sanctioned strategies and physical control techniques that are legal, applicable to the average employee, and as safe as possible.

The doctrine of subject control is to “overcome resistive or aggressive behaviour with a low probability of inflicting an injury.”

The science-based control methods taught in this program are based on tactical, legal and medical research and represent a curriculum taught worldwide for over thirty years.

Objectives

Justified Force Theory

Before a professional can be expected to apply arrest and control techniques in an appropriate and reasonable manner, they must understand their legal authority to do so. They must be clear on the context between resistant behaviour and their options to control it. They must understand the subject behaviour that creates the need for control and the use-of-force context of their control efforts.

Subject Control Principles

With knowledge of the science behind the techniques they are learning, the student will understand the use-of-force context, the potential for injury and the mechanism of control behind each of the techniques.

This allows the student to learn the techniques faster, learn them better and retain them longer.

This instructional block describes 5 non-injurious mechanisms of control as well as the dynamics of safely and effectively interacting with volatile, resistive or aggressive subjects.

Tactical Handcuffing

Statistically, most resistance encountered by law enforcement officers happens when trying to apply handcuffs. For that reason, students must be well-versed in applying handcuffs quickly, safely and tactically.

Students will learn how to apply handcuffs on a standing, kneeling or prone subject.

Pressure Point Control

With as little as a few pounds of pressure with the tip of the fingers or thumb, officers will often be able to illicit compliance from an uncooperative subject in situations where the use of a high-level force is not merited. These techniques are low profile and have a very low probability of injuring a subject.

Joint Locks

Joint locks involve hyper-extending or retracting the joints of the arm and wrist to either remove a subject from a hostile environment or to bring them to the ground and facilitate the application of handcuffs.

Stuns, Strike and Defensive Counter Measures

There are times, in highly resistive situations, when a professional will need to resort to delivering impact to interrupt aggressive behaviour and gain control of an offender.

In cases where officers are NOT trained, this tends to involve punching the subject in the face or head, which creates a substantial risk of injury to both the subject and the professional.

Stuns, strikes and countermeasures, involve empty-handed striking skills that are directed to nerve centers and major muscles to gain control with minimal risk of injury

Tactical Baton

Used improperly or indiscriminately a police baton can cause serious injury to a subject and create substantial liability for the employee and his or her employer.

In this segment, students will learn about the justified and appropriate use of a straight police baton. They will learn how to deliver impact energy to parts of the body with a high probability of control and a low probability of injury. The program is based on simple techniques that can be learned quickly.

Course Length

16 to 40 hours (2 to 5 days)

Class Size

12 Students

Delivery Requirements

  • PowerPoint
  • Whiteboard
  • Classroom Set Up
  • Open area large enough to accommodate physical skills practice
  • Floor mats
  • Handcuffs and Keys
  • Striking Sheilds
  • Foam Training Batons