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THE POLICE INTERVENTION AND THE PREVENTION RISKS1 José Carlos Vera Jiménez2 ABSTRACT: The police intervention, occasionally, involves using physical strength over citizens, which must be controlled. The training that has been implemented in some police academies is far away from the police work in reality. Many techniques of martial arts and contact sports are applied so that the training’s target consists of manipulating, beating and pressing vital areas. Pre-workout warmups are performed in order to put the muscles in optimum condition. The training of police officers is conducted on tatami or regular mats. Ultimately, it is not related to the objectives which member of the order should have on the protection of citizens and their physical interventions, so from my final degree’s work I expose and propose new effective approaches of police intervention in terms of risk prevention which is adequate for the needs of modern society. KEY WORDS: Police intervention, workout, formation, risk prevention, actual society.
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This article is referred to my lecture on the I International Congress about Technical and Juridical Evaluation of Operational Police Tactic, where I exposed my final degree’s work on Criminology and Security. 2 Head of the seminar in Police Technology Area of Public Safety School by the Cádiz city hall and Director of School Violence Prevention.
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In 1997, I began to provide training on techniques of personal defense to the Local Police in Cådiz during the ingress course for new agents for 40 hours in total. Techniques directly related with martial arts and contact sports which are linked with the use of physical strength, are performed. I was able to conduct this training due to the experience that I have had with this topic as well as more than 12 years of practice in this field of competition. Personal defense used by police on interventions over citizens is focused on the acquisition of techniques related with contact sports, combining elements: dodging, beating, bringing down (the excess of use of defense and disproportion of physical strength happen occasionally). These values are typical of martial arts as karate or judo, and the result, as expected, is not positive enough due to this erratic experience. This is shown through a totally different approach of as far as applied and stating constancy of the existence of the excessive idealization of the correct police intervention. These techniques can’t be used because they cause very serious injuries in vital corporal areas. In addition, you need to do a pre-workout warmup in order to put the body in optimum work condition on the intervention. The results about injuries on police or on citizens were high. This supposes consequences in civil and penal courts. After the results, we started to introduce changes on police intervention procedures in order to make the opposite of what had been performed so far. If we need to strike the human body, we do it against zones where the injury risk is the lowest, instead of zones where we could cause serious hurt. If we needed to use physical strength, we evolved to use lower strength. Definitely all of this supposes less risk of death and, in general, risk prevention on police ambit. Training hours were developed. Formation courses were starting sporadically where we could observe the development and the lines to improve day by day on police work. In 2003, after several sporadic training courses, we noticed the satisfaction of police officers, in addition to the necessity to implant this formation continuously. The main target is to guaranty the reduction of the number of injured police officers and protecting the citizens. It means ensuring the physical integrity of them, as our state of justice established. September of 2004, we began a new project of training for all police agents, which was developed every day for one year, except for the holidays of Carnival, Easter, summer and Christmas, when the course was reduced to twice a week. We established the training through rotative working hours. 2
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This project of training was approved by the Public Safety School by the Cﾃ｡diz city hall on 2012 and it is currently available and it is adapting to the necessities that we find along the years. The Operational Police Tactic is given through a modular formation integrated for five semi-presence modules which each last 21 hours. 350
Hours of lessons which were given each year
300 250 200 150 100 50 0
A. Data about hours of training received by Local Police of Cﾃ｡diz from Public Safety School by the Cﾃ｡diz city hall about Defense Police Tactic, since 2006 to 2013.
CONTINUOUS TRAINING OF LOCAL POLICE IN Cﾃ．IZ HOURS OF TRAINING SINCE 2006 TO 2012
NUMBER OF AGENTS
1100 700
650
12
680
14
710
550
10
25
74
200 23 0
3
5
125
3
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POLICE LOCAL IN Cﾃ．IZ MODULAR FORMATION OPERATIONAL POLICE TACTIC HOURS OF FORMATION 2013
41
21
MODULE 1
36 21
MODULE 2
NUMBER OF AGENTS
36 21
35
33
21
MODULE 3
MODULE 4
21
MODULE 5
B. Data about sick leave related with Police Interventions on Local Police of Cﾃ｡diz, since 2005 to 2013. Data obtained from the health institution Salud Laboral by Cﾃ｡diz City hall.
EVENTS RELATED WITH AUTHORITY AGENTS ON ATTESTATION. LOCAL POLICE. Cﾃ．IZ. PERIOD 2005-2013 Contemp Against Desobedience Authority, 31 Against Authority, 254
Lack of Consideraaon Against Authority, 216
Lack of Respect Against Agents, 216 Threats Against Agents , 70 Undermining of the Authority, 159
Insults Against Authority, 99
Resistance to Authority, 261
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C. Evolution of criminal events in Cádiz The statistics show that, despite of the fact of population decreased in Cádiz, the number of criminal remains the same. It means the decreased number of population does not affect the research. 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 YEAR 2004-05
YEAR 2006
YEAR 2007
YEAR 2008
YEAR 2009
YEAR 2010
YEAR 2011
YEAR 2012
YEAR 2013
D. Data about sick leave related with Police Interventions on Local Police of Cádiz, since 2005 to 2013. Data obtained from the health institution Salud Laboral by Cádiz City hall. The injuries can take place on their way to the job or during their service. When this happens, the agent has to write a report about the situation that took place. Then, a document would be delivered by the police station for the agent to get medical assistance on the mutuality of accidents.
YEAR 2006. 8 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Aggression • Injuries on forearm • Reduction arrested • Contracture on back • Kicked on the chest • Throwing bottle against a hand • Open wound • Arrested fell down on agent’s leg
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Struggle during arrest Injuries on finger YEAR 2007. 8 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Injuries during arrest • Injuries on hand during the escort of the arrested into the car • Cervical injuries during arrest • Injuries due to affray • Injuries on finger due to arrest • Aggression YEAR 2008. 2 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Several injuries due to arrest • Injuries on chest and neck due to arrest YEAR 2009. 2 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Injuries on finger due to arrest • Aggression YEAR 2010. 2 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Injuries on finger due to arrest • Falling down to the ground YEAR 2011. 2 sick leaves caused due to physical interventions. • Injuries on the shoulder due to aggression • Hurt on one arm and fingers YEAR 2012. 0 sick leaves due to physical interventions. YEAR 2013. 1 sick leaves due to physical interventions. • Injuries on the hip 1. ANOMALIES DETECTED AND CORRECTED ON POLICE INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES • •
After the sick leave is analyzed, the training hours were given, the techniques of physical interventions were performed there are still changes necessary. Taking into account the principles stablished for the Right, the Legal Medicine and the physical conditions of the policeman, I propose the next changes about the police training which are shown on the manuals that I have published. Ø Defense techniques and police self-defense, April 2006, 150 pages. Ø Defense Police Tactic, July 2006, 195 pages. Ø Intervention Police Tactic, May 2007, 187 pages. 6
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Ø Risk prevention on police ambit, June 2008, 94 pages. Ø Procedures with arrested into police vehicles, June 2008, 58 pages. Ø Operational police tactic, February 2009, 125 pages. Related with intervention over citizens: We replaced the zones of the human body to act. We changed the parts of the body where the injuries could be serious or deadly, where we used to exert the strength or the pressure. Now, we act on no vital areas of control, big parts of muscles where the result is not deadly. Places where perform the training: We removed tatami and regular mats where the training used to be performed barefoot. Now, training is performed on zones similar to real situation, on the floor where the arrested cannot be hurled, training in police vehicles and simulations in “Punta San Felipe”. This is the suitable way of learning.
Training clothing: Kimonos were used as the same way martial arts or contact sports. Instead of kimonos, we changed them for uniforms of work. It supposes the same situation as in reality. Injuries on hand fingers: Arrest procedures were changed, the grips using open hands were changed for techniques with the complete arm and closed fist to reduce the arrested. Back injuries: Procedures which cause hurt and torsion on agents' back were changed. New techniques include the changes on the strength to act and the straight position of your back. Training hours show that there are some sections where we need to improve on order to equalize the formation over the workforce. In 2013, we began the modular training with courses of 1 month and 5 semi-presence modules. It was the most effective way to act over the formation necessities of policeman. Also, the necessity to continue with the formation is thanks to the achievements, keeping a modern and helpful police who guarantees fast actuation and effective that the society demands of us. Along the research, I expose some data, opinions and conclusions which determinate how the changes about training in physical intervention techniques have been integrating on a “functional police” in order to achieve the target for which it was created. 7
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2. CONCLUSION The beginning of the sick leaves reduction in Local Police in CĂĄdiz has been due to the changes that we proposed about training in physical techniques of the policeman. With this new training on Operational Police Tactic that I propose, we obtain next benefits on Agents of Order, on citizens and Administration. The targets that we were looking for and we achieve, using “OTPâ€?, are: 1. Having an operational system of intervention applied, totally, to the police necessities. 2. Respecting the fundamental rights of citizens, taking care precisely of vital points related with arrests under the legal medicine checking. 3. Improving the risk prevention of policeman, focusing on safety measures of them. 4. Minimizing injuries on citizens during interventions using the changes proposed on the training that we performed. 5. Decreasing sick leaves on policeman, which are closely linked to the hours of training including the changes proposed on the way to act. 6. Decreasing complaints against policeman because of the inappropriate use of strength. Searching for it, we did several changes on techniques which were used by police on the physical interventions before the training that we showed. 7. Decreasing the possibilities of criminal charges and civil responsibilities, by means of minimizing hurts on citizens on physical police interventions. 8. Increasing the guaranty and efficiency on police intervention through reinforcing the confidence. 9. Improving the public image of local police through professionalism in risk situation. 10. Improving self-control and mediation capacity. Increasing esteem and safety of policeman to perform their duties. 11. Trying to improve and prevent through a continuous formation in operative techniques. Definitely, we are promoting a better service for citizens according to our state of justice and the Constitution.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY •
CÓDIGO PENAL. Ley Orgánica 10/1995, 23 of November.
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PEDRO FERRER TERENTI: Medicina legal en la intervención táctica policial (2007). JOSÉ MARÍA BENITO: Manual básico de procedimientos y defensa personal policial, policía nacional ESCUELA DE SEGURIDAD PUBLICA DE ANDALUCIA, on his module number 5 of formation for local police in Andalucía “defensa personal policial”.
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GUARDIA CIVIL JEFATURA DE ENSEÑANZA: Manual Defensa Personal Guardia Civil para la Academia de Guardias y Suboficiales, 160 pages, Ministery of Interior. (2010). JOSÉ CARLOS VERA JIMÉNEZ: Manual de operativa táctica policial (2009) TITULO: DEFENSAVI TACTIS Fecha de acceso: 9 de junio de 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPtNES10bRU You can see in this link how to use martial arts techniques and also recommendations on how to act against vital areas in order to reduce the criminal. Hispa gimnasios: Date of access : 5 June of 2014 http://www.hispagimnasios.com/a_varios/krav.php Krav Maga - Forward Hammerfist (Starting Position) Date of access: 5 June of 2014 http://youtu.be/FyZyEHWVb1c WEB DE JAQUES LEVINET: Date of access: 5 de junio de 2014 http://www.academiejacqueslevinet.com/formations-polices-armees/ Date of access: 12 June of 2014 PROGRAMA TÉCNICO PARA CINTURÓN NEGRO 1°DAN DEFENSA PERSONAL POLICIAL Date of access: 12 June of 2014 http://www.felucha.com/downloads/pdf/PROGRAMA.DPP07.pdf
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