BASELINE CONSIDERATIONS

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BASELINE CONSIDERATIONS

ESTABLISHING THE BASELINE

Baseline establishment is the key to the Six Layer Concept decision-making model. The baseline helps to derive the context and relevance of observed behavior by giving a contrasting background to anomalous behavior.

People are People

The first premise to understand regarding human behavior is that generally speaking all humans are the same. We all have basic needs for survival, such as warmth, food, shelter. For example the average human core body temperature is 98.6° F or 37° C, and a few degrees above or below that core temperature can cause hypothermia or hyperthermia, i.e.,heat exhaustion or heat stroke (Cleveland Clinic, 2021; Mayo Clinic, n.d.). These ranges are regardless of the climate and geographic location.

FIGURE 1 - SIMILARITIES FIRST

Despite all of the observable differences in this group of people, they ALL have one thing in common, their behavior. They are all looking at their cellular devices. People are the same all over the world. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

Another example of how humans are the same all over the world is circadian rhythms. Our circadian rhythm is essentially a biological clock that regulates physical, mental, and behavioral changes in a 24-hour cycle (NIH, 2022). The human life cycle extends beyond a 24-hr day, starting with conception, an average 9-month gestation period, infancy, adolescence, school, work, religion, relationships, children, retirement, and ultimately death. Human beings all share these stages within our life-cycle regardless of race, culture, or creed. It is the experiences that humans have during their life that shapes their perspective and day-to-day decisions.

Perspective vs. Bias

Perspective is important because having diverse life experiences can be beneficial in decision making by allowing different points of view for personal and institutional growth. That is the definition of perspective, a particular attitude, point of view, or regard for something. It is important, however, to understand that while different perspectives are great, if they cloud your judgment, then that is something different. This is where bias comes into play, and it is critical to

FIGURE 2 - THE COGNITIVE BIAS CODEX

There are over 180 documented cognitive biases. The best way to defeat the influence of bias in decision making is to focus on artifacts and evidence. CREDIT: Wiki-media Commons

With over 180 documented cognitive biases, it is not possible to remove the potential for bias in decision making, but it can be mitigated. Bias is built into our brains primitively for our own personal survival, but sometimes that can cause dissonance or inconsistencies in decision making. For the most part our brains are constantly trying to simplify the chaotic and complex world that we live in. The three main biases that we will consider in HTMBPR are cognitive, explicit, and implicit bias.

Cognitive Bias. A cognitive bias is a subconscious er‐ror in thinking that leads to the misinterpretation of infor‐mation, ultimately affecting the rationality and accuracy of judgment and decisions.

FIGURE 3 - FORD VS. CHEVY

An explicit bias can be something as simple at making the decision to purchase a Ford truck vs. a Chevy truck. CREDIT: Autoguide.com

Explicit Bias. An explicit bias is a bias that is processed neurologically at a conscious level, meaning that you are aware of it. These are conscious feelings, attitudes, of be‐haviors that are conducted with intent. Explicit biases are usually associated with extreme forms of overt negative behavior such as prejudice or discrimination.

However, an explicit bias does not always have to be negative. A good example of this is maybe an individual has a preferred brand of vehicle, like a Ford truck. That individual may be very loud and proud that Fords are better than Chevy. Where this bias would become a problem is individual only wrote parking tickets or speeding tickets to individuals who drove Chevy trucks.

Implicit Bias. Implicit biases are difficult because they are sub-cognitive, so therefore they are present but not consciously held or recognized. What is interesting beside the fact that this bias can operate outside of a person’s awareness, is that they can be in direct contradiction to their espoused beliefs or values.

FIGURE 4 - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCENARIO

Through the course of scenario-based training with Seattle Police Department it was identified that the majority of the officers dealing with the domestic violence issue were turning their back, tactically, on the female role player. Predominantly the aggressor in a domestic violence situation is the male, however by painting the female out the officers were putting themselves in a tactically unsafe position. This implicit bias was identified in the officers independent of their gender. This is also an example of a training scar and SPD decided to retrain their whole patrol division to address the issue. This is also and example of how to identify and defeat even implicit bias. CREDIT: SPD Blotter

So how can one possibly defeat this cognitive and sub-cognitive issues? The first step is to constantly reassess the baseline and upon reaching a decision making point to ask yourself, “do I have artifacts and evidence as to why I am coming to this conclusion or could this be something else?”. By doing this it creates an opportunity to exercise tactical patience, but it requires a level of cultural, emotional, and intellectual situational awareness.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

The term situational awareness has been around for a long time, but when asked everyone has their own definition of what it is. According to Endsley (1995), situational awareness is “perception of elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future.” This is the ability to identify, process, and comprehend the critical elements of information about what is happening to the team with regard to the mission.

Situational awareness if physiologically and psychologically demanding. Extreme heat, long hours of patrolling for miles on foot, and intense engagements will get the best of anybody. CREDIT: Lynn Westover

It is really easy to distill this down to the buzz words and terms that are commonly associated with situational awareness, such as “keep your head on a swivel”, “stay frosty”, “complacency kills”, or the one to beat them all “if you see something, say something”. As most know, it is much easier said than done. Add in factors such as shift work, family issues, sleep deprivation, improper diet, fatigue, and the constant threat of harm, serious bodily injury, or death and then add in that you may not know or understand what you “saw” or “who” you should say something to. It can be very tough, and an informed awareness is not enough, the ability to effectively and efficiently communicate those critical elements is essential to a cohesive mission accomplishment and survival.

FIGURE 6 - HUMAN FACTORS

The job of a police officer is that much harder with personnel shortages, extreme stress, and can be compounded by lack of sleep and nutrition. CREDIT: Fox 8 News Cleveland

EFFECTIVE & EFFICIENT COMMUNICATIONS Effective and efficient communication can be just as difficult as situational awareness. Communication is the number one issue for every industry from business management to military special operations. Compound that with many levels of communication.

FIGURE 7 - PTT: PUSH TO TALK OR PUSH TO THINK

Communication is more than talking on the radio. Sometimes the stresses involved with a situation can impact your ability to even function the radio appropriately, not to mention be able to speak clearly. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

Technologically speaking that can be everything from radios to cell phones using voice or text, but communication can be difficult even face to face. There are some things that can be done to improve communications, such as consistency. For example, many agencies across the country have gone from using “Ten Codes” for brevity, to just plain English, this is mainly because of the inconsistencies from one agency to another.

FIGURE 8 - ESTABLISHING A P.A.C.E. PLAN

A P.A.C.E. Plan (primary, alternate, contingent, emergent) with alternate means, modes, and methods of communication will ensure the best chance to avoid miscommunication. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

Communication needs to be clear and concise, which can be hard to do when the stress of a critical incident starts to take over. That is one of the reasons that there is a pre-amble on radios, not only does it inform the operator that it is transmitting or that the other station calling has ended their transmission, it gives the audible signal to pause before transmitting and remember to pause before releasing the PTT. It takes conscious effort to remember to pause before speaking and to pause after speaking before ending the transmission. The result is the front part and the back part of a transmission being potentially cut-off. The opposite of that is the “push to think” scenario where the station calling is so overwhelmed that they key the mic and then say “uhhhhh” or nothing at all.

BOLO Considerations

BOLOs (be on the lookout) are another consideration regarding clarity. If the only description for a vehicle is its color and make, then that can cause some confusion. An example of too much brevity, “a tan Ford Taurus” versus “a late 90’s tan Ford Taurus with a dented left front quarter panel and broken right headlight”. Even with no plate information, the latter is a much more definitive communication.

P.A.C.E. Plan

Redundancy in communication is key as well, having a P.A.C.E. Plan (primary, alternate, contingent, emergent) is essentially a contingency against having one or more forms of communication fail. This can be as simple as going from a man pack radio to the radio in the vehicle or using hand and arms signals in conjunction with verbal commands.

FIGURE 9 - EFFECTIVE & EFFICIENT COMMUNICATIONS

In most command centers from disaster relief to law enforcement to the military, the questions “What do I know, who needs to know, and have I told them yet?” are emblazoned somewhere inside because of how critical the flow of information is to operational success. Communications must flow laterally and from top to bottom and vice versa. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

There are three questions to ask to know for sure that effective and efficient communication is occurring. “What do I know?”, “Who needs to know?”, and “Have I told them yet?”. If those three questions are satisfied, then that means you have done everything possible on your end to effectively communicate. Communication and situational awareness have to work hand in hand.