Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 3 06/01 (REV 1/04)
Initial Tactical Response
The purpose of this order is to e stablish guidelines for the in itial tactical response of
patrol units. I. Introduction
Patrol units provide an initi al tactical response to many types of calls on a daily
basis. Certain situations require that additional resources be committed and
more elaborate measures be impl emented. This Operations Order is limited to
the initial tactical response , which would precede the on-scene identification of a
specific problem or the degree of the problem and the possible determination that
tactical efforts will have to be escalated.
II. General
A. Initial tactical responses have two primary goals:
1. Protection of Life
a. This includes innocent pers ons, law enforcement officers
and suspects.
2. Successful Conclusion of the Mission
a. This pertains to apprehension of the suspect(s) in all cases
where the incident is founded.
B. The above two goals have a gr eater possibility of being achi eved if the
initial tactical response by pat rol officers is carefully manag ed and
structured.
1. The successful conclusion of many types of tactical response s is
related to response time and an adequate number of officers. Fi nal
decisions regarding when contact will be made, based on elapsed
time, number of officers availa ble, and any other information w hich
may be available, will have to be made by the incident supervis or or
coordinator.
Field Services Page 2 of 3 06/01 (REV 1/04) III. Specific Guidelines
A. Supervision/Coordination
1. It is the policy of Field Ser vices, for officers to advise a field
supervisor of the circumstances regarding any tactical response
involving more than three (3) officers.
a. Supervisors who self-initiate their response to a tactical
situation will voice trans mit their enroute status.
b. If a supervisor is unavailable or delayed, the first officer
assigned to the call or an office r allocated by the supervisor
will be the Designated Inciden t Coordinator (D.I.C) until the
supervisor arrives.
2. The D.I.C. will have full author ity and responsibility for m aking
tactical decisions, which would typically be made by the superv isor,
until such time as relieved by a patrol supervisor.
B. Arrival
1. Consider the need for a prelim inary 940 for staging and inte lligence
gathering.
2. Crimes in progress may requi re that the arrival and deployme nt of
sufficient units for containmen t be coordinated over the radio.
3. Consider the degree of containm ent required to isolate and s tabilize
the scene.
a. Consider fields of fire among officers.
b. Take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of
uninvolved innocent citizens (cons ider evacuation or shelter
in place).
c. Evaluate the need to div ert traffic from the area.
4. Assess the need for addition al/specialized resources.
a. Additional patrol officers
b. S.E.D.
c. C.I.N.T.
d. Helicopter
Field Services Page 3 of 3 06/01 (REV 1/04)
e. Canine
f. Investigative
g. C.S.I.
h. Allied Agency - C. H.P., and etcetera.
i. Fire Department or EMS
5. When allied agencies are reques ted to assist, the protocols of the
Standardized Emergency Managemen t System/Incident Command
System will be utiliz ed as necessary.
C. After Incident Debriefing
1. The Incident Commander at the conclusion of the incident wil l
conduct an on-scene debriefing. Th is is to address any logisti cal or
tactical concerns and personnel r esponsibilities regarding prop er
event documentation. All involved SSD per sonnel shall attend.
Officers with outside agencies, inv olved in the incident, may a ttend
at their discretion.
2. A specific effort will be m ade to conduct the debriefing in a positive
manner, which will contribute to the success of future related
incidents.