PW_1_2024

Professional Development

The Defensive Tactics Group (IPA-DTG), Special Interest Group Rob Stenhouse, IPA-DTG Chair In our 10th anniversary year, I thought I’d bring our group to the fore by telling you all about our journey and maybe inspiring others to join. To introduce myself, I am one of the founders of the Group. I retired from North Wales Police in 2018 after 27 years. Previously I had served 11 years in the Royal Marines. I worked on response, Firearms and CT, but more importantly, I was a Firearms Instructor and Personal Safety Trainer. For a long time, I have been fascinated with the subject of how to keep myself and my colleagues safe whilst on patrol. A basic question, how do you prepare people for the reality of violent confrontations, without exposing them to real violent confrontations? The answer, I believe lies in reality-based training. Every year we very positive feedback, with some stating that it was the most effective training they had ever received. This included officers who were from highly specialist teams.

teach a Police Street Survival course in Gimborn. Firstly, we introduce officers to techniques that we believe will work. As a community, we select or develop techniques that are; easy to teach, easily learnt, easily mastered, easily remembered under pressure, and effective. We do this by using our collective experience of violent confrontations, and combine this with our knowledge of the effects of combat stress on the human body (perceptual distortion, parasympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system). We then try to train in context, the techniques are taught in uniforms, outdoors or inside normal rooms (not gyms), on hard ground, using duty equipment with minimal padding. In other words, trying to recreate the combat arena. The teaching follows a simple to complex format, that progressively leads from simple drills to complex realistic scenarios. This year at Gimborn International Conference Centre in Germany, we concentrated on immersing the delegates in basic drills that led them to high stress scenarios, in which we were able to recreate situations which engaged their sympathetic nervous system. The five tasks we concentrated on were knife defence, weapon retention, decision making, critical bleed, and an unarmed assault. The delegates absolutely embraced the training, worked hard and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. All of them provided

We also try and engage with experts from industry to enhance our training experience. Previously we have had Axon (Taser) who provided a very extensive training day, which included the opportunity to get tasered ‘ride the five,’ which consists of enduring a five second shock. Something you just can’t experience in the UK these days. This year we were joined by Chiron and pressure tested their flagship product, the X1 High-Impact Training Armour. It’s a highly protective, full-coverage training armour system, designed to withstand high levels of impact force and speed to vital targets including the head, neck and chest from blunt weapons during close-quarter combat (CQC) training. Not only did this give our delegates the opportunity to hit with their batons and firearms with the maximum amount of power. It also provided a great immersive experience in scenarios. Truly a unique experience. One of our trainers, Chris Duncombe (your very own vice president) gained his instructors qualification, by wearing the suit over two days as a role player. This is one of the benefits from taking part in the group’s activities, gaining experience, achieving qualifications and CPD, making new friends and expanding your knowledge and exploring what’s out there.

POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.1, 2024

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