By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
On Tuesday morning, the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and Fort Hays State University (FHSU) demonstrated techniques that allow law enforcement officers to respond effectively during traffic stops.
During a simulated traffic stop at the KHP Training Academy in Salina, KHP Lt. Gregory Etris along with Chair & Professor of the Criminal Justice Program at FHSU, Dr. Tamara Lynn conducted a mock traffic stop scenario that displayed how officers should respond to certain people, depending on their personality/behavior. The technique falls under the DISC Esoterica® model, that is used to decipher different personality/behavior styles.
The DISC Esoterica® model falls under the umbrella of the National De-escalation Training Center (NDTC) program that is known to be 'the most comprehensive, innovative and evidence-based experiential program available for law enforcement professionals, around the country. NDTC training teaches officers to identify personality characteristic and traits quickly, in order to adjust their approach and maximize effective communication and interaction with an individual.
According to Fort Hays State University, the NDTC model helps trainees learn to:
Respond in a procedurally just manner.
Recognize individuals experiencing a mental and/or physical crisis.
Apply behavior modeling to resolve potential conflicts.
Recognize and respond to active and passive emotional states.
According to Dr. Lynn, FHSU offers the de-escalation training through its criminal justice program. Dr. Lynn describes that skills developed through the training at FHSU, will help students before they enter law enforcement as opposed to developing those skills through experiences as a professional officer.
"The troopers are trained to recognize a personality within seconds and start making those observations, even before they start walking up to the car," said Dr. Lynn. "This is the skill set we want the new cadets to get much earlier in their career."
KHP Public Resource Officer, Todd Hileman gave his comments on what he thinks about the training.
"Lt. Etris and I were talking about how for the first part of our career we had to learn this through experience, but now this is great that they (students) can get this experience in the classroom before going out into the field," said Hileman.
Lt. Etris trains new cadets in the KHP academy to conduct these scenarios, before they experience it in the real world. He describes what they teach throughout these sessions.
"We teach that being patient and allowing that energy to be used up by the individual prior to us making contact, works to our advantage because now that person has had a chance to vent out that emotion and now we can be able to have a normal conversation," said Lt. Etris. "The officer is going to want to acknowledge that emotion, because that acknowledgement helps open up that communication."
The model also helps reduce the stigma of decreasing the 'fear' that may arise within an individual, when law enforcement officers approach them during a traffic stop. Lt. Etris commented on what law enforcement professionals have discussed to reduce that stigma.
"We asked ourselves, what can we do to change the mindset of society when they do encounter law enforcement," said Lt. Etris. "This skill set allows you to better understand people and the better we can do that, I think we are able to resolve things more peacefully."
"It's all about how you approach, speak and treat them," said officer Hileman.
FHSU facilitates NDTC's four training modalities, including 8-hour de-escalation fundamentals (online or in person), 16-hour de-escalation and a 32-hour 'train the trainer program.' the FHSU criminal justice program and University Police facilitate the Central Region Training Center of the National de-escalation Training Center. Dr. Lynn coordinates with regions across the U.S. to facilitate training sessions to agencies from other areas.
For more information on FHSU's criminal justice program, go to https://www.fhsu.edu/criminaljustice/
NDTC training is approved by the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST).
For more information about NDTC, go to https://ndtccenter.com/about