Considerations for Specialist Tactical Law Enforcement Officers During Long-Term Special Events

The security situation in the world today has a direct impact on specialist human resources (i.e., tactical law enforcement teams, military special forces, and other security agencies), especially during major planned events. These major events include large public gatherings, such as rock concerts, sporting festivals, economic forums, or dignitary and political visits. Risk management policies include the maintenance of public protection and multilayered security measures, which require specialist tactical response members to support these events with essential critical incident response capabilities.

These events are often staged over long periods; for instance, the Olympic Games last three weeks. The length of the event, combined with extensive lead-up training, briefings, planning, and preparation means that a tactical team may be engaged in a given task for a significant amount of time. During this pre-event period, these specialists may not be able to conduct adequate physical conditioning due to competing priorities, which may result in a drop in human performance, known as deconditioning (5).

This article originally appeared in TSAC Report, the NSCA’s quarterly, online-only publication geared toward the training of tactical athletes, operators, and facilitators. It provides research-based articles, performance drills, and conditioning techniques for operational, tactical athletes. The TSAC Report is only available for NSCA Members. Read more articles from TSAC Report