Speed: A Common National Theme

“It’s the job of sergeants to slow these calls down.” That was the phrase Lexipol’s Ken Wallentine used during a recent presentation at the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) conference. His presentation was entitled “Police Response to Mental Illness Crises.” While Ken covered a range of issues, the words about sergeants and officers slowing down the pace of these types of calls came at the very end of his presentation during his summary. Slowing down—when possible—allows officers to gather more information and to consider alternatives. I have heard many Minnesota police supervisors saying the same thing when discussing their tactics for responding to these difficult calls.

It reminded me of the national “Below 100” program, which is striving to reduce annual police officer line-of-duty deaths to below 100 per year. The third tenet of the program focuses on the officers’ driving and uses the phrase “watch your speed.” Inherent in that phrase is the need to slow down even when responding to emergencies. We continue to see the officer’s speed as a contributing factor in police crashes and injuries. We know that increased vehicle speed reduces the drivers’ ability to maintain situational awareness as well was increasing braking distance and the ability to react to the unexpected.

That theme of work speed—and the need to slow down to increase safety—was prevalent at the Minnesota Safety Conference in May. The presentations were focused on accidents in the general workforce, and working too quickly was a root cause of injuries. Presenters from around the country cited employees rushing, or working faster than normal, as a contributing cause of workplace accidents and injuries. I found it interesting they noted it was often the company’s best employees who were injured, as many of these employees had the “get ‘er done” approach to their jobs as they tried to meet company or team deadlines and goals.

These very different situations are connected by the commonality of speed—and the loss of situational awareness that accompanies it—as the speed of work, driving, or the human actions at an incident increases. Perhaps this is reflective of the speed of society, technology, and emergency work. Preparation and planning can go a long way in finding the time to slow down. Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

I welcome your thoughts. You can contact me at rboe@lmc.org.

Up next: 50 Years of 911

Stay safe,
Rob