The Deadly Routine
by Jack P. Morris
Category: Police

To aid the law enforcement and police science instructor in teaching patrol procedures, this workbook details the deaths of numerous police officers while offering safety rules and advice on 'routine stops' by police. Police literature and statistics concerning the deaths of police officers on patrol are reviewed, and possible reasons for the increasing number of assaults on police are explored. Eleven safety rules for police working on mobile assignments cover such areas as approach, stopping known wanted criminals, pursuit, communication, and use of weapons. The bulk of the text is devoted to nine separate incidents in which patrol officers were killed. Each history presents a description of the situation surrounding the crime scene and the officer's death, elaborates and charts the time framework, includes illustrations of the crime scene, and provides questionnaires and work assignments to provoke student discussion on the conduct of the officers involved and on possible alternative conduct which could have prevented their deaths. Finally, brief scenarios of actual events that resulted in the death of law enforcement personnel are included. Each scenario is accompanied by questions designed to stimulate thinking on alternative preventive actions. Sample general orders offering guidelines on pursuit policies and management and on arrests and transportation of arrestees are appended. Eight footnotes accompany the introductory chapter.