Customer Reviews

Force Under Pressure: How Cops Live and Why They Die

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Force Under Pressure is a book written by a psychologist with a deep appreciation of law enforcement tactical operations, especially those requiring deadly force. I had read only the first chapter when I stopped and got a pen and highlighter and began making marginal notes identifying key ideas and phrases for later use. Dr. Blum demonstrates a clear understanding of the ambiguity, confusion, high risk and severe time constraints that accompany law enforcement tactical encounters. He describes the effects of stress on human thinking and why perceptual distortion can lead to false conclusions. Each of the learning points is amplified by a actual situations. The book concludes with recommendation for surviving deadly encounters, not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. This book is now one of the texts in my library on crisis decision making.

I have been a police officer for 20 years and a Defensive Tactics Instructor for 17 years, this book highlights the psycological data that has taken me 10 years to learn and condensed it into a easy to read text. This book should be read by all police officers and possibly by all recruits in the academy. It should be a mandatory text to be studied by all police use of force instructors, this includes firearm instructors. Any instructor who is serious about teaching their students effective techniques of survival need themselves to understand the psycological process of a lethal threat encounter and be capable of imparting said knowledge to their students. It is the mind that must be trained and the body will follow. Good work Dr. Blum.

I have read a lot of books pertaining to police work. This is the first one that I have had the opportunity to read that is written for police officers. This book is geared for a police officer to read. It brings up many insights into officer safety, feelings of guilt and sadness, along with how to deal with them. The only negative thing that I could say about this book would be that it is written almost in a "school book" or informative style. I think that the author could have used othre angles to make it a little more interesting.

I just finished this book after adding it to my collection of prep books for promotion (someday). Dr.Blum's prose is detailed and informative, without crossing the line into technical jumbly. Make no mistake: This book should be mandatory reading for all officers at every level. Don't wait until your first traumatic incident to buy this book; get it now and use the preparation techniques described. I only wish this book had been handed out the first day after leaving the protective walls of the academy...

This book handles the stresses related to police work, how they affect individual officer's life, and how to overcame the stress. The author is a phychologist who works with police departments in stress-related issues.

I had high hopes towards this book, as I have read a couple of similar books, and they have been mostly interesting to read, shedding light to an important issue. I was disappointed with this book, however, as in places the text is somewhat tedious. It is not too difficult to understand, but it is not very pleasant to read. It is as if the author had forgotten to whom he is writing this book for, as he uses expressions and writing style that you would expect to find in a scientific publication, not in a book aimed for general public. In places the text is much more interesting to read, as if the author had been suddenly excited about the given subject, bringing his enthusiasm into the text.

The text covers both the theoretical aspects of the issue, and there are also some stuff that can be directly put into use (like visualization exercises). The book explains the background and causes of some widely known stressors, which was interesting to read.

If you can put up with the somewhat tedious writing style, the book (the issues presented in the book) is interesting to read. But on the other hand, there are more interesting books on the market, also.

Force Under Pressure How Cops Live and Why They Die is an easy read even for those of us who are not in law enforcement or in the phychological sciences. Dr. Blum has a gift for bringing us into his world and allowing us to experience the traumas and tragedies our police face willingly and the toll it takes on them psychologically and physiologically. Individual police experiences and its aftermath are met with constructive treatments such as mental conditioning and stress management resources. This book is not meant for the lay person but I can use many of the techniques discussed in stressful areas of my own life. I have given copies of this book to police officers I know and hope they pass it on to help save lives.

Took me two days to read it. Took me another two days to re-read it as I was so intrigued with the insights that this psychologist has in our profession. Once I was done, I ordered a copy for every instructor (DT, Firearms, FTO) in our Department. Mandatory reading...

This book should be read by all wanting not just to enter law enforcement but the criminal justice field in general. This is a very easy to read book, that took me less than a day to read. It presents several case scenarios and explains how to mentally prepare yourself to react in given situation. All examples are clearly defined and the techniques presented should be implemented.

Force Under Pressure: How Cops Live and Why They Die by Dr. Lawrence Blum is an excellent resource that all police officers and those working in law enforcement should read. Dr. Blum a clinical psychologist has extensive experience working with police departments and this book demonstrates that he has a clear understanding of law enforcement operations especially those requiring deadly force.

Force Under Pressure proficiently demonstrates how important proper training is to police officers and can be the critical factor in determining an officer's preparedness to appropriately respond to any crisis that an officer may encounter whether on patrol or as part of a tactical unit. He shows that the officers ability to make a decision during conditions of threat and what the officer did to control the subject/suspect encounter is where safety and survivability of police officers is achieved or lost. When officers are presented with the complex task of controlling potentially assaultive subjects, their attainment of maximal performance will require that the officer have:

1. accurate expectations about what to expect from the subject's behaviors and reactions to their presence
2. confidence in their ability to cope with stressors they encounter
3. the continuing opportunity to practice dealing with stressors at the scene so that appropriate skills will be both developed and maintained over time

Training is essential for officer to perform at maximum levels and be able to deal with the physiological and psychological reactions to stress and why perceptual distortion can lead to false conclusions. Each of the learning points is backed up by actual situations. There are excellent chapters on police officer stress and mental conditioning.

Force Under Pressure is an excellent source of information for officers and especially trainers who are responsibly for training officers.

Great overview of the career and the stressors that it puts on us. Even put into "Soldier" or "normal" terms. A little dry but this type of material always is. But the simplicity of his terminology and explanation makes it much easier to read than sitting through an equally presented lecture. Its also not overly indepth. Some authors tend to explain too much and lose the reader. I find that he does no. He gives examples, makes it quick, simple, and gets right to the point. Its also nice how he give first hand anonymous accounts of situations that have occured, to help explain what he's talking about.