Well it happened to me again.  I was starting my shift on the road with a stop for the bathroom and I made an embarrassing discovery.  I put my long johns on backwards.

Oh… stop laughing as I am sure many of you as LEOs have encountered situations such as mine.  It is these situations which reminds us of our vulnerability to distractions on and off duty.

Now I am not going make excuses or place the blame on my age or memory.  I can admit in my rush to get dressed and inattention to details which placed me into this dilemma.

I’d like to take a moment to bring up the topic of SITUATIONAL AWARENESS especially in law enforcement.

One of the ways I can describe Situational Awareness is this: You need to be emotionally, cognitively and physically present when you are working.  Aware of what is happening around you at this moment.  Preparing to meet the challenges presented to us at any moment and responding appropriately.

• When you are dealing with people whether our suspects or the public we serve, are you focused and present?

Are you ready for the unexpected as we all know, crap happens quickly:

• Are you dressed properly?
• Are you carrying your authorized equipment?
• Are you scanning, looking over the area considering options for the unexpected action?
• Do you have a plan ready to counter an attack, a subject running off or think of something unusual that could happen as it usually does.

Are you familiar with your patrol area, your community or like many LEOs who have to cover several communities?   (Streets, land marks, businesses, government buildings)

Do you depend on GPS?  I am amazed at the number of public safety personnel who are depending on GPS for everyday regular (NO… Such thing as routine) service calls.  When I came on the job, I was taught to learn my main streets first, then my secondary roads.  I discovered many individual streets when I answered calls.  I have a laminated map in my duty bag and if it is a hot call when I have that brain cramp, I’ll ask for a location on the radio.

My concern about the electronic technology is we become dependent on this equipment.  We lose our awareness of our surroundings and our sense of direction.  This is important safety issue to consider especially if you are involved in a foot or vehicle chase.

• Would you know where you are?
• Can you tell the Calvary (your back up) where you are?

This is vital for LEOs, don’t rely on the technology.  Please practice and memorize where you are at all times.  Be aware of your surroundings.

As we are entering the winter months and the holidays fast approaching, this is the time of the year when it gets darker earlier.  These situations along with the poor weather conditions that we work in are some of the real hazards which greatly reduce our visibility.

• Please stay alert and wear your ANSI approved reflective vests, jackets and gear when working near the roadway both day and night.
• Make sure your flashlight(s) are charged and use the attachments for traffic control and visibility.

This is the time of year that we need to be alert for criminal activities around our shopping districts, residential areas and impaired operators on our roadways.

As one of the 5 tenets of the BELOW 100 Campaign asks:

• W.I.N.-What’s Important Now?

By staying focused and present, we avoid the distractions which can get us into trouble.

While we are at it, here are the other 4 tenets of BELOW 100 Campaign:

• Wear your seatbelt
• Wear your ballistic vest
• Watch your speed
• Remember: Complacency kills

The backwards underwear dilemma was my great reminder that I need to pay attention to detail which includes Situational Awareness on and off duty.  I am grateful that it was a silly discovery and not a dangerous situation.

REMEMBER: WE ARE THE HONORABLE PROFESSION!

Stay safe and be well!

Sgt. Mark St.Hilaire is a 27 year veteran police officer serving in a suburb of Metro-west Boston, Mass.  He is a volunteer police peer assistant to a regional C.I.S.M. team.  You can contact him by confidential email at: markfromnatick@gmail.com.  Follow Mark on Linked In or Twitter: @NPD3306.

Well over a decade ago Proctor and Gamble was feeling the competition from other soap companies who were competing for the mopping public. There were new and improved mopping formulas and even different types of mop heads like the sponge with the green scrubber my wife liked. The old-fashioned mop head with dread locks was still around but the soap competition was heating up.

Proctor and Gamble had more chemists with PhD’s working for them than any other company in the world at the time, as they started their research for a new and improved soap to win the mopping public back. The researchers spent millions of dollars developing new detergents that could clean anything that you could spill onto your floor. The problem was that most of these new formulas also took the top few layers of flooring with them.  This problem persisted as they attempted to create a powerful cleaner that would not harm different types of hard flooring surfaces. After two years of research the team of chemists was still no closer to solving the problem and the company had to decide what to do next.

The company leaders chose to send the problem to Continuum, a firm of engineers and consultants that help with innovation and design for businesses. They didn’t have chemists or the research facilities of Proctor and Gamble but they agreed to research the problem and see how a better soap could be developed for mopping floors. They chose not to start in a research lab but instead they hit the streets (or the kitchens) of America to figure out how to develop a strategy to solve P&G’s problem.

Continuum’s design researchers started visiting the average home to watch people mop their floors. They noticed several important things over the course of several months. The average kitchen floor was washed once a week and it required a lot of hot water and detergent for washing and then more hot water for rinsing. Just by watching a lot of people mop their floors they found that people spent more time cleaning the mop than cleaning the floor. They also discovered that most of the so-called dirt on the floor is not sticky, adhering dirt, it’s just dust. And water turns out to be a particularly bad way to get rid of dust because the dust will just float to the surface and then settle down in the form of mud.

Anyone could probably attest to their final finding, that almost no one enjoys washing the floor and touching a dirty mop, but the design researchers verified it, and instead of ignoring it because it was so obvious, they paid attention to it because it was so universal. One researcher wanted to see what the homeowners would do for a small spill so he made it appear that he accidently spilt his coffee on a floor that was just mopped. He apologized and asked the woman if he could mop the spill up for her. She said, “of course not, I’ll get it” as she walked over and pulled a paper towel from the roll on the counter. She went to the sink and ran some water on the towel and then wiped up the coffee spill and threw it all in the trash. They repeated the exercise with many others just to see the same response. No one got the mop back out because it was too big of a hassle to mix up the detergent and water and later clean the mop over a small spill.

They put all of their research together and instead of proposing how to formulate new soap for the old mop they proposed that a single sheet of paper could entrap dust—since dust was most of the problem—and created the Swiffer. The new design would replace the water, the chemicals in the detergent, the time and back strain associated with filling buckets, and the energy needed to heat the water. Of course, they also created the Swiffer WetJet, which uses a spray of cleaning agent to spot-clean caked-on dirt, if and when necessary.

By addressing both the technology and the users’ desires, Continuum helped to create a sustainable solution with the Swiffer, one that provided value to both P&G and the consumer while reducing the total impact on the environment. They realized that society didn’t need a better soap for their mops – society needed to replace their mops.

We should always look for new ways to improve and update the training we offer our cops and cadets. And then there are times when our training needs to have a complete overhaul, like the Swiffer. When you instruct, you are responsible for passing along wisdom – not just information. Engaged cops and cadets are enthusiastic to learn and become active participants in their own training. To create productive, memorable, and vibrant classes, an instructor must continually work on increasing audience participation. A good format will include group discussions, lectures, guest speakers, case studies, review games, and other activities.

Active learning and audience participation may require more from you as an instructor but, the payoff for the audience is worth it. Your efforts will benefit them with a deep understanding of the topic and prepare them for the tasks that lay ahead. I gave you “Rolling the Dice” in my article last week as a way to pull your students into the lesson you are teaching. These methods do not need to be complicated to work well with your class. The following method is also short and sweet but sure to have everyone involved with your topic.

Patrol Partners

Partnering up is a quick and easy way to involve everyone in the audience. When your topic does not allow enough time for other, more involved activities and exercises, have the students partner up with the person sitting next to them. It helps cadets form a personal bond with one of their peers as they discuss the topic, research a handout together, respond to a question, or compare their work. They learn to count on each other and trust others for back-up, a valuable lesson for law enforcers.

Placing questions throughout your slide show works well with Patrol Partners. Each time a question comes up, let the pairs quickly discuss their answer and check their notes before you choose someone to answer. Your students will see the value in seeking the opinion of others when time allows.

Any instructor reading this article can probably think of a curriculum that should be completely replaced, and we all realize there is always room for minor improvements in everything we do. We do not need to replace the mop every time we teach a topic but there is usually room for some fiddling. The best instructors are constantly fiddling with their format, slides, handouts, and materials to make the entire presentation better.  Learn to enjoy the fiddling, and the feeling that comes from knowing your next audience is in for an encounter – not just an education.

“We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.” ~C. S. Lewis

Richard Neil is LET’s Police Training Contributor. He is the author of “Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides, & Increase Active Learning.” He is a retired city cop, and instructs for several of Ohio’s criminal justice training academies. He can be contacted through his website that is dedicated to law enforcement training resources – www.LEOtrainer.com.

Today’s young law enforcement officers text, use cell phones, MDT’s, and other technology-based communication devices. These officers are forgetting how to communicate with others.

Law enforcement is losing its history; those stories and ideas that had been passed down from one police generation to the next.  A cup of coffee or car to car conversation is dwindling away. These moments and interactions are just as important as understanding COMPSTAT numbers or area beat information.

In the past, having coffee was a time to gather as a shift or group of officers. Having a cup of coffee represented a time to vent, discuss, and share information. Information shared was both “tactical” and “practical.”  We discussed how we handled a call or how we should have handled a call. We laughed at how funny the suspect or witnesses were. We gossiped, or discussed office politics, as I call it.

These encounters provided opportunities for mentoring. Younger officers were able to sit with seasoned officers to learn our craft, our profession, our history, and our reasons for doing things. Supervisors and officers were on a level playing field. The great equalizer was whether you took sugar, cream, or milk.

In working as a police officer/law enforcement professional, we learn collectively through the trials and tribulations of colleagues. We cry, we laugh, and develop our culture on the success and failures of other police officers. We need to understand what has happened in the past, so we hopefully prevent it from happening again.

At a practical level, we need to understand how to best deal with the “Johns” at 123 Anyplace, as that family has created problems for the department for decades. We also share the good of the bad situations.  Practically speaking, as a new recruit, I was made aware of the number of officers who were killed in the line of duty from my agency. I was made aware of their stories, because this is how we honor them and we remember.  As a profession, we are not remembering those who have gone before us.

We have a different view of drinking coffee today. People drink coffee to stay awake.   Officers pick up a cup, get in the car, and take off to the next call. Officers today are so concerned with a myriad of other factors they forget what is important. In understanding an organization, the most important part is how the organization interacts. The more the department has a “family” feel, the better the organization will survive and succeed. In knowing each other’s names and stories, we break down barriers and walls. Officers are more connected with the Internet than the profession.

As a profession, we need to get back to having a cup of coffee that means something. We need to take time to know who we work with and help develop younger officers.   We must share our successes and failures, so we can learn and so we can grow so we can continue our journey in this honorable profession.

Matt Stiehm was born and raised in Minnesota. He has served as a police officer in three states (CA, MN and NE) and keeps current on law enforcement trends. He received a Doctorate in Education from Argosy University, where the focus of his research was campus safety and security. He has a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Central Missouri State University, with his final paper focusing on the investigation of child abuse. He currently is a member of ILEETA, MN Infragard, FBI LEEDS, an Associate Member of the IACP, and the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association. Contact Matt at info@stiehmsolutionsconsulting.com