#police protocol

So I’ve been listening to Dragnet, an old radio program from the late ‘40s through the early ‘60s. It’s an absolutely fantastic show, and I’ve been really enjoying following it. That said, it’s been bugging me quite a bit when I consider their chase protocol. In the episode I just listened to (Episode 29: Garbage Chute) the show ends in a chase. The man fires on them once and then runs. After that they chase him down some streets, and through a dinner, where they exchange more shots and ask the kitchen staff to try and intervene, and finally they stop him by taking measured aim at his as he’s running. I know a lot of it has been changes in societal values and improvements in police protocol cause by a number of accidents, and a lot more of it is simply the matter of it ultimately being a radio drama based on real cases. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they shot a man in the back, rather than calling for backup, exchanged gunfire in multiple crowded areas, and tried to convince unarmed civilians to intercept a man they knew to be armed and dangerous. And this is pretty much how it goes every episode. Very rarely are guns used defensively; more often than not, they’re used as a tool to subdue someone running, and in one case, they actually end up shooting dead a valuable witness, who tried running from custody while handcuffed on a busy street in front of the police station.

In all honesty, if there’s any single thing I’ve learned from listening to this, it’s been to appreciate how much ground has been covered by modern police forces. The newer protocols are designed to improve the survival rate of officers, bystanders, and even the criminals, because shooting your witness for running is counter-productive when you want to bring in their peers.