Controlling subjects: realistic training vs. magic bullets

"Society tasks the police with maintaining order and controlling resistive behavior without providing them the benefit of clear-cut parameters from which to operate...Nowhere is the search for boundaries more intense than in questions on the proper use of force...After nearly a quarter-century of concerted effort in this area, only one thing seems clear: No magic bullet exists that will control every subject in every situation...Training should incorporate what many officers have already learned the hard way. No device or physical maneuver guarantees 100 percent success when confronting subjects. Therefore, training should provide officers with various methods to address combative subjects and surprise assaults. It then should prepare officers to be flexible in their responses to confrontations." (FBI LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN) Methods of controlling subjects, including physical response and nonlethal devices, are discussed. Reality-based training is addressed.