Tactical Medical Training for Police Officers: Lessons from U.S. Special Forces
Abstract
This thesis seeks to answer the following question: Can law enforcement officers across multiple jurisdictions benefit from lessons learned in combat environments about medical training? The thesis compares the medical training requirements of U.S. military forces with those of federal, state, local, tribal, and wilderness police departments. It specifically investigates how military lessons learned in tactical medicine pertain to the various police departments' medical training requirements. The study finds that the main lesson police officers can take from the military is to build community-specific medical training based on unique law enforcement needs and available assets. The U.S. Special Operations Command uses hard data surrounding soldiers' work environments, access to medical care, and common modes of injury to design its medical training programs. In turn, police officers should design law-enforcement-specific medical training programs based on their assets and specific work environment. Additionally, a more detailed reporting system regarding police officer fatalities would support the officers' data collection, which would likely help improve police officer tactical medical training.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA574228
Entities
People
- Christopher D. Judge
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School