Building Search: Tactics For The Patrol Officer

BUILDING SEARCH
Tactics For The Patrol Officer

by James D. Stalnaker

Foreword by Lt. Al Baker, NYPD (Ret.)

Among the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement is a building search. And the reality is that nearly every officer will be called on to search a building some time in his or her career. So you had better be prepared.

BUILDING SEARCH: Tactics For The Patrol Officer by James D. Stalnaker is a practical handbook every officer should read before entering a building if coming out safely is part of your search plan.

A building search requires steely attention to detail and Building Search has plenty of nitty-gritty specifics.

It begins even before you walk out the door of the station: with your general preparation for patrol. The most important aspect of your preparation for duty is your mental attitude. Do you really have a winning attitude? Are you ready to concentrate on the job? Are there any distractions that might interfere with your ability to concentrate on the job, or would inhibit your winning mindset? What about your beat, do you know what is going on, what’s the current situation, what’s been happening in the area lately? Have you talked to other shift officers on your beat? Building Search has specific tips to get you prepared.

Do you have all the equipment you might need, is it all in proper working condition, and can you get to it quickly without thinking if you’re responding to a robbery in progress? Building Search will show you new ways to use common equipment you already carry, plus give you suggestions for other types of inexpensive and easy to get search devices you might not have now or ever seen.

Now you get the call: robbery in progress, two suspects. What will you do on the way to the call? Will you concentrate only on a quick response, or will you also be on the lookout for suspicious persons, vehicles, and activity. Is there a comm protocol in place, and on what frequency? Are there back up units en route and where will they be positioned? How many officers will be available for inner and outer perimeters and when will they be in position? How will you handle communication between the search officers and perimeter officers?  Building Search guides you through every step of your initial response operation.

But before you rush in to a building, have you mapped out your tactical search plan? Does the plan ensure a safe and effective search? Have you gathered and considered all the available information and intelligence that could be of help? Does your plan allow for change and modifications? What would you like to know and how will you use this information? Building Search shows you in simple terms how to create a search plan.

Building Search also has extensive chapters on entry and movement, and search tactics that cover a multitude of ideas and innovations designed to make your search effective and most importantly, safe. Each of these chapters has photographs and diagrams that make these tactics easy to understand.

Building Search tells you exactly what to do if you make contact with suspects, the most dangerous part of the search operation. You’ll learn detailed suspect control, custody, and removal tactics that are unique to building search situations, whether there is only one suspect, or multiple suspects.

Building Search also covers important tactical applications such as how to number the sides of a dwelling or building, how to prepare a tactical diagram of a dwelling prior to conducting the search, and the unique problems encountered when searching multi-story buildings.

Recognizing the inherent danger of searching for criminal suspects in a house or other building, the author uses every opportunity to explain how each of the tactics he has developed puts officer safety above all other considerations. These safety measures can create a huge tactical advantage for search officers.

Although written primarily for patrol officers, Building Search presents search concepts and tactics that can also be used effectively by SWAT teams, narcotics officers, probation and parole officers, and security officers.

Building Search is packed with advice and practical tactics devised and used by a law enforcement veteran with nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience, from the streets to homicide and SWAT as an operator and supervisor. This book isn’t about theory. The author has searched every type of building and has devised a tactical search method that is simple, effective, and emphasizes officer safety first.

“Jim’s book is that voice in your ear, that senior beat officer, that invisible veteran partner, that elder tribesman who cautions, advises, directs and enumerates the pitfalls of life on patrol and building searches.”
Lt. Al Baker, NYPD (Ret.)from his Foreword to the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Warning & Disclaimer
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Lt. Al Baker, NYPD (Ret.)
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 Preparation
Chapter 2 Equipment
Chapter 3 The Call
Chapter 4 Perimeters
Chapter 5 The Tactical Plan
Chapter 6 Entry & Movement
Chapter 7 Search Tactics
Chapter 8 Search Considerations
Chapter 9 Numbering System
Chapter 10 Multiple Story Buildings
Chapter 11 Tactical Diagramming
Chapter 12 Summary
Chapter 13 Braving the New World
Index of Photographs
Index of Illustrations
About the Author

Item No. 400
216 Pages
Softcover
$30.00   SALE PRICE: $9.95