Recently I read a study conducted by the Force Science Institute Research Center titled Violent Encounters, A study of felonious assaults on our nations Law Enforcement Officers. The study showed the glaring differences in mindset and training between law enforcement and the criminals they face. The point on this article it to discuss the implications this has in regards to the armed citizen.
During the study 40 incidents were studied out of 800 that were considered. Interviews were conducted with 43 felons and 50 police officers. The scenes of the shootings were also visited.
Not surprisingly the handgun was the weapon of choice for the bad guy and all but one was obtained illegally on the street or from a robbery. Only one of the felons claimed to have actually selected a particular firearm believing it would be more destructive. Most said they used whatever was available at the time they needed it.
Some of the bad guys began carrying a firearm as young as nine years old and 17 was the average age at which they began to carry a firearm all the time. This is frightening since we know how unpredictable even non-violent juveniles can be. They also realize that they are protected under the juvenile justice system.
Approximately half of felons interviewed claimed to have some type of formal firearms training, primarily from the military. The one statistic that blew me away was that on average bad guys reported practicing about 23 times a years in informal settings like back yards or drug areas. This type of constant informal training, which I doubt, is seldom conducted with the goal of shooting tiny little groups in a piece of paper, in very unstructured environments can obviously lead to a “thinking outside the box” mentality. The average police officer in the US qualifies 2.5 times a year. If you are an armed citizen, have you ever qualified? How often do you draw from concealment and engage live/moving targets? The officers who practiced the most off duty did so in the form of competitive shooting. You have to ask yourself how much of that transfers to shooting to save your life.
Over half of those interviewed had participated in live gunplay prior to engaging a police officer. That means that half of them had previously been inoculated to being shot at or shooting at another person. Ten of the felons had been involved in five or more live firefights. Have you participated in any use of force in the form of Simmuntions or airsoft? Only eight of the 50 police officers had been previously involved in shootings. I have to imagine that number would dwindle even more for legally armed citizens.
Across the board like most of us, the bad guys carry their guns in the waistband with the groin and small of the back being almost tied in way of preference. Amazingly 40% claimed to carry back up guns. None of them reported using a holster, which leads me to believe they will need only more preparatory movement to access their firearm.
Approximately 60% of all offenders including the street combat veterans claimed to be point shooters in that they focused on the target. They seemed more willing to shoot at the available target and were not focused on center mass. The concentrated on shooting their victim to the ground and once that was achieved had no problem walking up and executing them.
In the shootings investigated the bad guys put rounds on target a staggering 70% of the time with only a 40% hit rate for the police. Even though it is not discussed at length in the article it is interesting to note that the majority of time police are involved in a shooting the initial contact is made by the officer. At some time during the contact furtive movement on the part of the suspect often initiates the shooting. Obviously even the most lackadaisical officer realizes the danger of any contact. Police are loosing gunfight even though they initiate contact. The armed citizen is even further behind the power curve since it is usually the criminal who initiates contact.
Even though I know that many folks seem to know exactly how they will respond to a deadly threat, more than half of trained police officers failed to use deadly force when it would have been justified.
Existing every day in an environment where violence from fistfights to shootings are the norm the felons expect to be killed and will not hesitate to fire first. They have learned to survive by hitting while their victim is thinking about it.
Here I only covered some of the high points. What is more important is what it means to police officers and our focus here, the armed citizen. The key to survival is constant, unpredictable training in chaotic environments. Constant means that training cannot depend on just live range time and a choreographed routine. Unpredictable means that what you do in a training session not always be based on what you have in mind and must encompass open hand combatives and the introduction of not only firearms but edged and impact weapons. The chaotic environment is the hard part. For many staying away from these places is what keeps us from getting locked up that would result in us being prohibited from purchasing or carrying a gun. When you do find yourself in a chaotic environment focus on scanning for possible threats without getting tunnel vision.
In my opinion one of the best training investments you can make is a quality airsoft and Blue Gun. Make the focus of your training responding to furtive movement within seven yards. Putting rounds on target and using every possible aide at your disposal such as open hand skills, light, sound, movement, angles and physical barriers. Learn what your natural responses are and train into them. Come violent or don’t come at all.
During the study 40 incidents were studied out of 800 that were considered. Interviews were conducted with 43 felons and 50 police officers. The scenes of the shootings were also visited.
Not surprisingly the handgun was the weapon of choice for the bad guy and all but one was obtained illegally on the street or from a robbery. Only one of the felons claimed to have actually selected a particular firearm believing it would be more destructive. Most said they used whatever was available at the time they needed it.
Some of the bad guys began carrying a firearm as young as nine years old and 17 was the average age at which they began to carry a firearm all the time. This is frightening since we know how unpredictable even non-violent juveniles can be. They also realize that they are protected under the juvenile justice system.
Approximately half of felons interviewed claimed to have some type of formal firearms training, primarily from the military. The one statistic that blew me away was that on average bad guys reported practicing about 23 times a years in informal settings like back yards or drug areas. This type of constant informal training, which I doubt, is seldom conducted with the goal of shooting tiny little groups in a piece of paper, in very unstructured environments can obviously lead to a “thinking outside the box” mentality. The average police officer in the US qualifies 2.5 times a year. If you are an armed citizen, have you ever qualified? How often do you draw from concealment and engage live/moving targets? The officers who practiced the most off duty did so in the form of competitive shooting. You have to ask yourself how much of that transfers to shooting to save your life.
Over half of those interviewed had participated in live gunplay prior to engaging a police officer. That means that half of them had previously been inoculated to being shot at or shooting at another person. Ten of the felons had been involved in five or more live firefights. Have you participated in any use of force in the form of Simmuntions or airsoft? Only eight of the 50 police officers had been previously involved in shootings. I have to imagine that number would dwindle even more for legally armed citizens.
Across the board like most of us, the bad guys carry their guns in the waistband with the groin and small of the back being almost tied in way of preference. Amazingly 40% claimed to carry back up guns. None of them reported using a holster, which leads me to believe they will need only more preparatory movement to access their firearm.
Approximately 60% of all offenders including the street combat veterans claimed to be point shooters in that they focused on the target. They seemed more willing to shoot at the available target and were not focused on center mass. The concentrated on shooting their victim to the ground and once that was achieved had no problem walking up and executing them.
In the shootings investigated the bad guys put rounds on target a staggering 70% of the time with only a 40% hit rate for the police. Even though it is not discussed at length in the article it is interesting to note that the majority of time police are involved in a shooting the initial contact is made by the officer. At some time during the contact furtive movement on the part of the suspect often initiates the shooting. Obviously even the most lackadaisical officer realizes the danger of any contact. Police are loosing gunfight even though they initiate contact. The armed citizen is even further behind the power curve since it is usually the criminal who initiates contact.
Even though I know that many folks seem to know exactly how they will respond to a deadly threat, more than half of trained police officers failed to use deadly force when it would have been justified.
Existing every day in an environment where violence from fistfights to shootings are the norm the felons expect to be killed and will not hesitate to fire first. They have learned to survive by hitting while their victim is thinking about it.
Here I only covered some of the high points. What is more important is what it means to police officers and our focus here, the armed citizen. The key to survival is constant, unpredictable training in chaotic environments. Constant means that training cannot depend on just live range time and a choreographed routine. Unpredictable means that what you do in a training session not always be based on what you have in mind and must encompass open hand combatives and the introduction of not only firearms but edged and impact weapons. The chaotic environment is the hard part. For many staying away from these places is what keeps us from getting locked up that would result in us being prohibited from purchasing or carrying a gun. When you do find yourself in a chaotic environment focus on scanning for possible threats without getting tunnel vision.
In my opinion one of the best training investments you can make is a quality airsoft and Blue Gun. Make the focus of your training responding to furtive movement within seven yards. Putting rounds on target and using every possible aide at your disposal such as open hand skills, light, sound, movement, angles and physical barriers. Learn what your natural responses are and train into them. Come violent or don’t come at all.
as I'm no expert.
