![]() Interaction with specific officers and agencies allows the offenders to observe and evaluate a variety of officers performing their duties under specific circumstances. Scrutinising these behaviours helps offenders evaluate all officers in general, regardless of any particular activity or agency, including response times, types of approaches, handcuff, search, and transport procedures. Offender’s experiences with the legal system results in familiarisation with public safety practices, as well as opportunities to observe various officer-related behaviours. In circumstances where offenders feel that an officer has the edge, they often respond by waiting until the officer makes a lapse in procedure or attention. The most dangerous offenders in such situations are those often described as ‘predatory’, and because they do not experience the same levels of stress as most people, they are less distracted by internal or external factors. Like any interpersonal interaction, offenders assess people, including officers. One point in the study particularly stood out – offenders size officers up and scope them out. Officers with command presence carry themselves and perform in a manner that leads ‘predator’ offenders to look for easier ‘prey’.Ī recent study in the US examined more than 130 incidents in which officers were unlawfully assaulted. Offenders choose not to resist certain officers because they did not feel they would be easy targets and could fail in their attempts. Why is it that some officers get attacked on duty and others do not? Often, officers who are not assaulted possess something that victim officers do not: command presence. ![]() This option alone can have an important impact on the outcome of a situation, as an officer that is presented in a professional manner and looks fit and alert can often create doubt in the mind of the subject and therefore limit options for resistance. The first response option is officer presence, which is the ‘presence of a uniformed authority’. These options are used in response to the resistance displayed by the subject, and are required under law to be ‘not disproportionate’ to the objective the officer is trying to achieve. Officers have numerous options available for controlling a situation and ensuring public, and personal, safety. ![]()
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