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Dave Smith “JD Buck Savage” |
An Officer from Bowling Green (Mo.) Police Department recently asked PoliceOne Columnist and Street Survival Seminar Instructor Dave Smith about “routines.”
“I am a past seminar attendee from 2006 (St. Louis) … I still carry the small card with the tips for the morning after a critical incident, and I am not quite clear on the meaning of ‘Take advantage of routine’ that is one of the tips on the card. I know I heard it in class but I do not recall what was said about it.”
Smith says that this is a reference to the comfort of personal life routines. “Going to the gym, watching your favorite show, and those things we do daily in our lives which are reliably comfortable and reassuring,” can really help you in the wake of a critical incident.
“It does NOT refer to your activities on the job where we fall into the ‘routine’ trap of relaxing when we shouldn’t,” Smith says. “Unfortunately, we are creatures of routine because we LIKE predictability! Remember, two the best ways to get hurt on the street is to make yourself predictable and to think the people we are dealing with are predictable!”
About the Author:
As a police officer, Dave Smith has held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. Dave continues to develop new and innovative programs across the spectrum of police training needs designed to assist your agency and your personnel in meeting the challenges of policing in the new millennium. As a trainer, speaker, and consultant Dave brings with him unparalleled access to modern law enforcement trends.
Dave is now the owner of “The Winning Mind LLC,” the Director of Video Training for PoliceOne Video and author of the new book “In My Sights.” His experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to his signature class, “The Winning Mind.” Visit Dave’s website at www.jdbucksavage.com.
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Credits
Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.