# The less lethal philosophy & barricades involving the mentally ill



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

by PoliceOne.com Columnist Major Steve Ijames 
*Sponsored by TASER* 
This is a less lethal column, and as such some might wonder why I'm writing this month about barricaded subjects. Less lethal force is defined in the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Instructor/Trainer Programs as, _"a concept of planning and force application that meets operational objectives, with less potential for causing death or serious injury than a conventional police response."_ Reduce that to plain English and it means getting the job done, with less chance of anyone getting hurt. Nothing wrong with that, especially when you consider the poor track record law enforcement has recently had with barricaded mentally ill subjects, specifically as it relates to correctly defining "getting the job done". Toss out the term barricade and most folks think of heavily armed robbers and murderers taking a stronghold position in a fortified structure and defying all attempts at rooting them out. In reality, barricades involving such "real" criminals are not that common, especially when compared to the time we spend on those involving mentally ill, self-destructive and suicidal subjects.

Full Article: http://www.policeone.com/less-lethal/articles/1293592/


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