Training is everyone’s business. The following quote by an unknown author can sum up the biggest reason why it is so important: "The consequence for not adequately training your people is their failure to accomplish that which is expected of them." As leaders, we are, therefore, plagued by a universal dilemma which includes an overall indifference to training and the lack of available training funds. The lack of training does not reduce our responsibility for it. Ask anyone who has ever gone to court over an officer’s actions and he/she will tell you that the first thing the attorney asked for was the training records, followed closely by the officer’s personnel file. So, how do we overcome this obstacle? We get creative and make use of all available training time. We use creative techniques which are neither time intensive nor costly. One such technique, which has been proven to be effective by the acid test of time, is the tabletop exercise. I have used this form of training extensively at squad and platoon (shift) level.

A Very Useful Tool

The tabletop exercise is a practical, useful and economical way to train law enforcement officers. The military and private sector corporations have been using what I call paper drills for years. They are a very effective way to place an officer in a situation, have them handle it, and then critique their response. And, in doing so, it does not have a major impact on your resources. The key to this type of exercise is having the officers respond in writing, doing the work while on duty, and having the critique done individually, or as a group, depending on what type of goals you were trying to accomplish. You give the officers a deadline for the project and they do it around their normal duties. A typical time frame for an exercise is to allow a turnaround time of four working days. The supervisor then collects the assignments and reviews them for the key items for which they were looking.

Step One

We develop our tabletop exercises in easily definable steps. The first step in designing one is to pick a particular area on which to test your officers. The categories for this are somewhat endless. I have conducted many exercises in high liability situations, emergency operations, and simple policy and procedure issues. The most notable in the recent past were an active shooter situation and a hazmat scenario. In the high school scenario, the officers were placed in the role of supervisor and had to respond to the limited information by using standard policy and procedure. They also had to draw on our past training and their past experiences. In the hazmat incident, they had to respond initially as first responders and then as supervisors. The incident selected was difficult and involved, but not so complicated that it did not have a solution. The goals are always to have the officers think in terms of past training and have the supervisor identify any perceivable lapses in training. Once you pick your scenario, you must move on to the next step which is deciding in which role the officers are to respond.

The officer’s responses can come from the viewpoint of the initial responding officer, supervisor, or backup. I have found it very useful to have the officer respond first in the officer mode and then handle the same situation as a supervisor. Expanding an officer’s horizons in this way makes him a much better officer in the long run. They learn quickly that it’s a different situation when they are in charge and that they can be called into the captain’s office when something goes wrong. It’s also educational to role-play the part of supervisor. Everyone always has an opinion about how things should be done and this gives them the chance. It also creates a forum for the unit being tasked to identify ways to streamline, or improve, their own procedures. I know that I have modified some of my own tactics or procedures due to the input from members of my squad while critiquing their responses. The tabletop exercise is valuable to the supervisor in this regard, as well. You must keep an open mind and realize there are many ways to do things. Any trainer will tell you that, as long as principles are not violated, tactics or procedures can always be modified to fit the situation. Understanding this allows you to realize that a different approach by one of your officers is not necessarily wrong, as long as it is within the approved guidelines.

 Step Three

The next step is to write out a one page memorandum of instructions, spelling out exactly what the situation is, what you want done, and when it is to be finished. Something else you could possibly include is what your reasons or goals are for performing the exercise. You can also assemble any supporting documents which they might need for the exercise. For example, during the hazmat incident I mentioned earlier, I gave them a drawing of the type of tanker truck that was overturned and a copy of the hazard classification system. For the active shooter scenario, I provided a file copy of an aerial photograph of the high school that was under siege and a copy of an enlarged section of a map book for the school, so it would assist them in planning their roadblocks, command posts, and staging areas. If you want to get fancy, you can put the packet together with a cover page, including some type of graphic, your name, and date. The truth be known, the more I do these exercises, the fancier I get and, interestingly enough, my efforts are always paid back with wonderfully detailed work products. Once that is all prepared, we move on to the next part of the equation: When do they do the work?

Finding the Time

We all have to live by the infamous Garcia ruling and our own agency’s overtime restraints. So, the answer to when do they do the work becomes one of practicality, not ingenuity. They do the work while on duty, as their shift allows. That means you give them a specific number of workdays to get the job done. I find that four to six workdays is enough to have them complete even the most detailed exercise. Sometimes, I grant extensions for appropriate reasons, but try as a general rule not to do that. Part of the challenge is to accomplish the mission in the time allotted. The squad is ruthless among themselves when they find out someone was cut some slack.

At this point, you might be thinking that this is a lot of work for officers to do while already working and they will probably not respond well. I can tell you from experience that, if you challenge them accordingly, and not just give them busywork, you will have a very positive response. When I gave my first one, I got the expected mumbling and the typical, "You’re kidding, right?" response. But, once we did the first critique as a group (I highly recommend the first one be critiqued as a group), attitudes changed. One officer responded as if the whole thing was a joke and I did very little besides express my disappointment to him. The squad and peer pressure handled the rest and he never looked at one of these assignments as a joke again.

Every tabletop exercise since then has been performed with pride and honor. They have been taken very seriously, and some officers have even gone to the point of printing out their answers from a computer and placing them in a binder. The answers have been very well thought out and, as I mentioned earlier, created some change in our squad’s standard operating procedures. They have even gone so far as to ask when the next one is coming because they now view it as a challenge and a chance to excel. The tabletop exercise is just not limited to the small group process. It can be done on a much larger scale which could include an entire section or division.

Last Step

The last part of the drill is to take all of the written exercises and place them in your supervisory training notebook. The training notebook is where I keep a running log of all training that is conducted. This includes training at briefings, magazine articles, or anything else I pass out which can be considered training material. Also included in the notebook are any office generated items which come from our training section or the chain of command.

Summary

The tabletop exercise is a tool which is cost-effective, simple to implement, and keeps everyone sharp — officer and supervisor alike. It is a way to reach out to training issues which are seldom done, if at all. This form of training can be one way that we move closer to assuring mission accomplishment instead of failure. This type of training is never meant to replace hands-on or realistic training. It is meant, however, to augment existing training and give a supervisor one more tool with which to work. An extra added benefit is that these types of exercises are a great way to prepare future first line supervisors for assessment center training. The tabletop exercise does work and has a track record of producing positive results.

SIDE BAR

1. General:

You are patrolling your zone when your thoughts are interrupted by dispatch advising you of an overturned tanker truck at 192 and the turnpike exit. The first caller advised that it was an accident between a tanker truck and a tractor-trailer. A second and third caller advised that there was a cloud forming along the ground of some type of gas mixture which has been leaking from the overturned tanker.

You are just passing the sheriff’s office when you get assigned the call. As you approach the accident, you notice the gas cloud, hovering close to the ground, is getting bigger. You also see several cars which apparently tried to drive through, and around, the accident and have crashed off to the side of the road. The drivers and their passengers are still inside their vehicles and appear to be passed out. You look through your binoculars and read a "1052 ID number" on the tanker truck’s placard. After saying, "Oh ****!" you move into action…

2. Instructions:

First, you are to handle this incident from the standpoint of the responding deputy. Take it as far as you can with your current level of knowledge and reference material available to you as a road patrol deputy.

Then, you are to handle this incident from the perspective of a road patrol sergeant managing your squad. You must ensure that all supervisory tasks are complete which will include, but are not limited to, requesting the resources you need, making any notifications, and coordinating your response with EMS.

You are to use your issued Hazmat 2000 Manual, Policy and Procedure Manual, and the Emergency Operations Manual as your primary references. Remember, this is a two part response. The response is to be handwritten and to be accomplished while on duty, as your shift permits. You will have four (4) working days to complete the exercise upon its receipt.

3. Notes: