For the Trainers...

As a trainer, there are many things we need to do prior to any class. These may include reviewing all the course material, making sure we have all the training aids and all the good stuff that we already do. We strive to do the best that we can in the classroom or whatever environment we will be training in that day.

My question to you is: Is that all you do? When was the last time YOU increased your knowledgebase? When was the last time you took care of yourself?

Most of the time we do not think of any of this. We may go to different trainings and learn a few new things, but for the majority of us, that is it. Depending on what type of agency you work for, you may be a trainer in a few areas. In other agencies, you may be an instructor in just about everything.

I'll use myself as an example for both so bear with me. While I was working for Vermont DOC, I was an instructor in OC and Fire Safety. I taught mostly at the facility on a quarterly basis (training was conducted this way) while continuing to work shift the rest of the time. It was relatively easy for me to find the time to read different articles, etc about anything that I was interested in.

Now, working in Texas is a totally different ballgame. My full-time job is as an instructor. We get to teach everything: CPR, first aid, defensive tactics, classification, restraints, communication, firearms, chemical agents, transport procedures, Safe Prisons (PREA), con games plus anything else that is there. And let's not forget about in-service as well. Finding the time to read something new was a lot harder to do.

Sure, I could do it at home without a problem since I have a computer. I would also be neglecting my family since I am extremely Type A (hey, as instructors, we are all type A personalities. We have to be). I also had my business that I needed to keep up with as well. I would start in on something and forget the world existed until it was complete. I had to find the right balance.

My knowledge was getting stale. Yes, I would know the material that I taught. Yes, I kept on reading the lesson plans to make sure I wouldn't miss anything. I had been looking for a way to learn more and more so I wouldn't feel like a cereal box that was left open for a month. I wanted to challenge myself. It was not a matter of being better than anyone else.

I work with an outstanding group of instructors. Arguably the best. I will have them go toe to toe with anyone else. I just wanted to be better than who I was. I was not happy where I was as an instructor. I was becoming complacent. Not good for me...at all.

I knew about a few sites in which I could get some more training. Some of them free, some of it not so free. Probably one of the best ones I found was for the National Institute of Corrections. They have so many classes that I could do online, at my pace and it would not cost me anything. What an awesome resource for trainers!

The only limitations that we have are the ones that we place on ourselves. I can't blame anyone else for the stale knowledgebase that I had. It was my own doing. My own laziness.

The status quo cannot remain as it is. We must continuously move forward. We are the experts in our field. People depend on us to teach them. Guide them. Help them.

Are we where we want to be as trainers? Where do we want to be as trainers? I can tell you this, I know where I want to be and I also know I am not there. Still have a very long way to go. I have not achieved my full potential. Have you?

Stress and the Unintended Consequences of Our Job

We put on our uniforms every day and go to work. The things that we deal with on a daily basis will make the normal person cringe. We raised our hand and volunteered to do this job. We volunteered to deal with the brutality that society has to offer every day. We volunteered….Our families did not.

Stress is an ever present factor in our daily lives. It is an evil that we try to learn how to deal with. I say try because we rarely succeed at it. We have gotten better at it over the years, but it is still a constant struggle for us.

It came as a shock to me, but as I was researching the divorce rates for Law Enforcement and Corrections, I found that the divorce rate for LEO’s was lower than the national average at 14.7%  and for corrections is was higher than the national average at 21.3%. The national average is 16.35%. I honestly believed for the longest time that we were at the top of the list (Dancers and choreographers are at the top with 43.05%).

Even though it is great news that we are not at the top of the list, when it comes down to stress, there is no doubt that we have one of the most stressful jobs out there. How we deal with it, and more importantly how our families are affected by it, is what makes all the difference.

How do we normally deal with stress? Since we are supposedly built to show no emotion in the face of adversity, we bottle things up and refuse to talk about our feelings. We don’t need to talk about them, right? Isn’t talking for sissies? We just need to deal with whatever it is and move one. How wrong can we possibly be about this train of thought?

We must learn how to control, and deal, with the stress before it controls us and we loose all control of our lives. When we allow stress to control us, we face the following just to name a few:

• Increased depression and/or suicidal ideations
• Use and/or abuse of alcohol or drugs
• Increase in health problems, both physical and mental
• Increased isolation
• Increased burnout at work
• Decreased familial interactions
• Increase in extramarital activities
• Decreased communication
• Inability to get adequate sleep
• Increased irritability/anger

 

I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t like the way that it makes me feel when the stress starts building up. My back starts knotting up, shoulders start killing me, can’t sleep well and then I get mad at the drop of a hat. Not good at all. Who do we take it out on usually? Our family.

Now there are a few things that we can do in order to deal with the stress and reduce the negative effects of stress:

• Develop or improve your community relationships. It has been shown that people that involve themselves in the community tend to live happier lifestyles.
• Take time for yourself. You need to find time to yourself so that you can unwind after a long day at work. It is better to look like a nutcase in your car on the way home by carrying on an argument with yourself and let it all out than it is to have an argument with your loved ones at home. Don’t let the frustration out on them. You chose the job, they didn’t.
• Get more sleep. If you are finding yourself getting up tired, try going to bed 30 minutes earlier and see if that makes a difference.
• Get into a nightly routine. Whether it is reading a book, listening to music, taking a bath or taking part in your favorite hobby, this can be a great way to relieve stress and relax. You know what you like to do.
• Get into a workout routine. 20-30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week not only increases your overall wellness, but it can also help in reducing stress.
• Forego drinking alcohol when stressed/angry. It may solve your problem at that moment, but the problem will still be there when you are done drinking (and hopefully not made it worse)
• Learn to communicate better with your family members. Bottling things up never work. It always comes out in the end. How it comes out is up to you though.

I’m sure that you can think of others, and if you may, please pass them on so that others can benefit from them. We need to always look out for each other.  ALWAYS…

Training Your Mind

For the last few days I have been in a turkey-induced comatose state (just like most of us have been) and it got me thinking today: working in either Law Enforcement or Corrections we know that we have to physically prepare ourselves for any situation that may arise. We train physically so that our bodies can sustain the pressures of our chosen profession. Unfortunately, many of us do not train our minds as well.

It takes the average person 1000 repetitions of doing something for it to become muscle memory. In other words, we don't have to think about what we are going to do, we just do it. But when it comes down to our minds, do we really do the same thing?

While it is true that most of us do not have the time to sit there and practice our response to a scenario 1000 times, nothing says that we can't think about what are response will be when we are faced with a situation. Think about the amount of time that we have to think throughout the course of our day: in the shower, cooking (or waiting for our order at the drive thru), waiting in line, driving (not so safe but we still do it anyway), in the bathroom...

We have the time to think about what are response will be to any situation that we can come up with. Most of us will never be Bruce Lee so we can forget anything that is going to involve a lot of complicated moves unless we have the time to physically practice. The Inverted-U Hypothesis states, in a nutshell, that as our stress levels (arousal) increase, our fine motor skill will decrease and is therefore detrimental to our performance. What do we have left then? Gross motor skills.

If we repeatedly practice just a few simple responses to situations that do not involve fine motor skills, our performance during times of increased stress will improve thereby increasing our chances of survival. This also applies to our mental exercises. If we repeatedly think about the same adequate response to a certain situation, eventually you will not have to think about "what will I do," you will just do. Just remember the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

When it takes an average person 1.5 seconds to close a 21' gap, do you really have 1.5 seconds to think about what you will do as a response and take action? Guess how long it takes that average person to see something, recognize it as a threat, formulate a response and put it into action? Yep, 1.5 seconds.

I know I don't have the time to think about it. Do you really do?

I want to know what you think!

Some of the Benefits of Kevlar Tactical Gloves

Thinking that any pair of gloves will protect those little sausages attached to your hands is the same as thinking that a pair of tennis shoes will protect your little piggies in a steel factory...it just isn't going to happen.

Kevlar was developed by DuPont in 1965 and was first commercially used in the 1970's as a replacement to steel in racing tires. Since then the uses of Kevlar have expanded and continue to do so to this day. It can be made into yarn, fiber, paper and building material for home/commercial construction. The real limitation is the human mind.

Law Enforcement first saw this wonderful material used in bullet proof vests. Although there had been "bullet proof vests" prior to 1976 (medieval Japanese used heavily reinforced silk garments as soft body armor), it wasn't until the late 19th century that the U.S. started to see soft body armor. Flak Jackets in the 40's, 50's and 60's were a great addition to the military when under fire but it was not only too bulky for every day law enforcement use, but too expensive.

So, how many people do you think would shoot themselves because they truly believed in their product? Richard Davis sure did. His company Second Chance has been a leader in soft body armor since the 1970's.



Do you think he is nuts? I don't. He knew what he had and he believed in it. He didn't just say, "hey, this works!" he said "let me show you how it works." Talk about testicular fortitude!

When it comes down to our hands, it is just as important to protect them. Kevlar Tactical Gloves does just that. They protect your hands. With the likelihood that we will be cut during a pat/strip search, or searching an area, or having to defend ourselves against someone who has a weapon is extremely real. Check out this review and demonstration of a pair of kevlar tactical gloves:




See what I mean? If you don't use protection you may find yourself in trouble. There are some added benefits as well to kevlar tactical gloves. They can be used not just in law enforcement, but every day life. If you work with sharp objects you can use them. Many of the styles out there on kevlar tactical gloves are also heat resistant or fire resistant as well.

Use protection! If steel workers all wear safety toed boots, why don't we all wear kevlar tactical gloves?

What's your excuse?

Stress in the Law Enforcement Community

For those of us in the law enforcement community one of the biggest problems that we face on a daily basis is stress. Stress from the job, from home, from deadlines and many other internal and external stressors. So what are some of the ways that we can combat this evil force?

Before we delve into this serious problem, we must first understand where it comes from and how we normally deal with it. People have been dealing with stress for ages and we all deal with it in many different way. Stress is the wear and tear on our bodies as the direct result of  both internal and external factors in our daily lives. Internal stressors can be family issues or other internal issues that we may or may not have direct control over. External stressors can be problems with neighbors, friends, financial problems and other issues that we may not have direct control over.

How do we deal with stress? It is lamentable that some people suffer from so much stress that it will lead to a severe case of clinical depression, and as a result, turn to suicide as a way to escape this unbearable pain that they feel.

Stress can also lead to a series of other serious issues such as:

• chronic pain
• heart disease 
• high blood pressure
• drug/alcohol abuse
• divorce
• high turnover rates at work
• increase in leave usage

We have all suffered from stress at some point in time or another. We have also been depressed about something throughout our lives. The person that says that they have never suffered from either is only lying to themselves. Stress can be either a positive event or a negative event. Examples of stress as a positive event would be a wedding (unless the bride is bridezilla), a birth or a promotion. We can all think of examples of negative stress.

Stress can also provide some positive outputs:

• Gives us energy. Some people, when stressed, will find a way to expel all the energy that they have built up inside.  Whether its cleaning house, rearranging furniture, cleaning out garage, we find that we get to it and get it done even if we didn't have the predisposition to do it in the first place.
• Communication.  Stress can open up lines of communication that may have not otherwise opened up. We feel the need to talk about what it is that is bothering us and lets it all out in the open. Even if we have short-term negative effects from this, the end result is almost always positive.
• Determination. Sometimes stress will give us a determination that we may not have experienced before. We want to prove that the stressor will not overpower our will to succeed. Nothing makes me more determined to succeed than someone telling me that I can't do something or that it can't be done.

Combat the Stress

There are many ways to combat stress. Here are some tips:

• if the cause is something that you have no control over, and can't do anything to change it, don't let it get to you. Let it go.
• Have a hobby. No matter what you choose to do as a hobby, be faithful to it. It could be as simple as reading a good book, cooking, bird watching, it's your choice what you want to do.
• Get plenty of rest. If you wake up in the morning and don't want to get out of bed, you're not getting enough. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier and see if that helps.
• Have a nightly routine. Read a book, take a bath, watch TV, write in a journal. Your choice as long as you do it on a regular basis.
• Get some exercise. We all have time to get a little exercise done. This does not mean that you need to go to the gym. A walk around the neighborhood will do. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk a little faster at work. Park a little farther away from the entrance. Its simple little things that we can do to improve ourselves. Make sure that it is something that you enjoy doing so that it doesn't feel  like work. Exercise 15-30 minutes 3 times a week will do the trick.
• Become involved in community events. Whether it is through your church or another social group, become involved. The self-satisfaction that we get when we do something for someone else is very gratifying and a great stress relief method.
• Communicate. Talk with your loved ones. Don't shut them out of your life. The moment that we shut them out is the moment that we start to loose them. Too many Law Enforcement Officers have had their lives torn apart through divorce due to a lack of communication.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. How do you deal with stress?

Are you ready?

Do you know what September is?? No, not the month after August and before October (ok, yeah you're right...but not this time), but its the half-way point during hurricane season. Remember, June 1 - Nov 30 (OK smart aleck....September 15 is the 1/2 mark...you satisfied???)

Do we know for sure that we are not going to get hit with one? Nope! But not all of us are prepared for it either. What supplies do we need to have at hand?

Let's go with the basics:

• Canned food
  
• Bottled water
• First Aid kits
• Emergency Evacuation Plan/Route (hopefully we do't need it though)
• Supplies and food for our pets
• Solar chargers for cellphones and other electronics
• Containers for collecting water
• Anything else that you think that you may need! (Make-up does not count ladies!)

Get together with family members and see if they need any help. Same thing with neighbors. Some of us don't have the luxury to be home during this time due to our professions (yep, we still work in the law enforcement community during these times) so any help that we get from others is ALWAYS greatly appreciated and returned in kind.

We always hope that we don't get hit with one. Just look at the devastation that Irene just left, but we need to make sure that we are ready for anything. Make sure that YOU are!

Complacency

Working in the corrections field for over a decade now, it still amazes me to this day how some officers become so complacent throughout their career. Why in the world would you go into a job like the one that we have and become so comfortable with our surroundings?

We say that safety is always on our mind, yet some officers are far from safety conscious in their everyday dealings with offenders. I have seen officers that leave personal belongings laying around where offenders have easy access to them. Others don't pay attention to what is around them. There is a fine line between confidence in doing your job and arrogance that nothing will happen to you. Probably what gets me the most is that when you address it with the officer (and you are the supervisor) some of them tend to get an attitude about the situation. And for those of you thinking about it, yes, sometimes the supervisors are the worst at it for whatever reason...

Within the last couple of months I was faced with an unfortunate situation, not for me, but for the officer that was working the cellblock. We have established procedures for everything that we do. This officer decided to bypass the procedures and as a result, the officer was sliced on the hand by an offender that had been involved in a use of force not even 2 hours before. This offender also has a history of assaulting staff. The only thing that came to mind was that the officer was complacent. This is just one example of the many things that we tend to see every day, and luckily for us, they are not all this serious. It just goes to show what complacency can do for you.

I asked officers working in the correctional facilities in the area why they do not wear any type of kevlar gloves. The answers that I got astonished me. I received answers like "what is that??", "I dunno", "They are too hot", "I don't know where to get them", and other answers along these lines. I also ask them if they honestly believe that nothing will happen to them. The younger officers reply "they are going to mind!" and the older officers say "I know that something can happen, but I have been lucky so far." Some are completely honest and say that they know very well something can happen at any time. Others, however, are all lip service and say one thing and yet their actions are totally opposite to their words.

This does not apply to all officers that are working in our correctional facilities throughout the country, but a good part of them have let complacency take over the way that they do their job on a daily basis. Let's all try to save them before it is too late...

Feel free to either agree with me or disagree. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Your Feet Said What???

While working in a correctional facility there is nothing worse than getting home at the end of the day and your feet are screaming at you to get off of them. Working all day on concrete floors while on your feet for 8-16 hours takes a toll on you, not only your feet but also your knees and back. Add to that all the gear that you wear around your waist and it then becomes a chiropractor's dream. I know many officers that have visited a chiropractor at some point in their career. Some of these officers even have them on speed dial and even know their children's names.

Ask around and the officers that rarely, if ever, have sought treatment for back problems will tell you the same thing: invest in a good pair of boots. Regardless of where you purchase them, cost is sometimes, if not always, a factor in our decision of what to buy. There are many manufacturers of good, quality footwear and of course, prices vary. The footwear can range from $40-$110+ depending on the manufacturer and the quality of the boot. Think about it this way: Would you rather spend $1,500 on a used vehicle and then pay $6,000 or more to your local mechanic during the remaining life of the car, or pay $12,000 and not have to worry about repair costs for quite a few years with proper maintenance?

I completely understand that sometimes we can afford to drop $80-$110 on a pair of boots (especially with what we get paid these days) but I rationalized it to myself this way: I can spend $80 on the boots or I can spend $40 on the boots and then all the costs associated with going to the chiropractor and/or Primary Care Physician as a result of the pain? I chose the former. If there is no way that you can afford the cost for the new boots at this time, there are still things that you can do. These can include buying some gel inserts ($6-$10) from your local discount store (they work great!) all the way to being extremely nice to your spouse and hope you get a foot rub at some point.

The best advice that I can give you is the following:

1. Ask around your facility/work area and see what boots fellow coworkers recommend.
2. Figure out your budget and invest in a good pair of boots early on once you can afford it.

 If you take care of your feet, they are bound to take care of you (no matter how ugly they are).