The Illinois Model

Maybe it's because of a powerful tradition. Or a strong sub-culture. Or even a political bureaucracy. But for some reason, policework is missing a systems or process mindset. Because of the tremendous variety of problems that police officers are asked to solve, police policy makers and trainers have been unable to implement a universal problem-solving or decision-making program. We believe The Illinois Model is an answer...with a LEOpSys (lee-OP-sis) or "law enforcement operations system." A "system" has interconnected parts. Each relates to another part or parts. Some parts are more critical than others. Some parts are linked together in a way that make them entirely dependent upon the work of others. There are checks and balances. Some links in the chain can break and the system continues at sub-optimal levels; other failures in the system cause a complete catastrophe. And in the end....there is an outcome. In order for a police "system" to ac

Procedural case law is a critical element of police training. Unfortunately, the bookshelves' worth of cases is confusing, disorganized, and remains un-prioritized. We developed a method to effectively teach case law to police officers so it can be used as "guidance" in the street. We first introduced the below " Combined Police Search, Seizure, Force Intrusion " template in a posting several months ago. Our trainers use it to format their teachings of police case law, specifically issues regarding Search & Seizure and Use of Force. It's also used to explain the growing number of cases where judges are publishing opinions on more general  police strategy and tactics . These cases discuss: building entry, use of tactical teams, pointing of weapons, deployment of chemical munitions (tear gas) and flash bangs, and whether officers are creating a more dangerous situation by their positioning, movement, and tactics. A general template for all police in

I haven't done any debriefing of incidents on this website before. Now is a good time to start. Of course I'll be using The Illinois Model as a template when I give my opinions. *** These two police car dash-camera videos have been making the rounds lately. There are plenty of opinions on the videos (and incidents), both individually and collectively. Maybe these videos will help our followers better define their personal Police Operational Philosophy . (If the videos aren't displaying on your device, here are some links:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5O_4e4hnqM and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do9KYCoiQZc In both cases, the motorist exits the car and faces the police officer. In both cases, the motorist pulls a dark item on the officer. In both cases, the officer fires his weapon...though at different times in the encounter.