Police self-deployment at critical incidents: a wicked problem or a part of the solution?
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Authors
Brookes, Anna C.
Subjects
self-deployment
police
ICS
wicked problems
Boston Marathon bombings
edge of chaos
apperception
phronesis
self-initiated
Cynefin framework
after-action reports
Christopher Dorner manhunt
bricoleur
Horst Rittel
Melvin Webber
self-dispatch
police
ICS
wicked problems
Boston Marathon bombings
edge of chaos
apperception
phronesis
self-initiated
Cynefin framework
after-action reports
Christopher Dorner manhunt
bricoleur
Horst Rittel
Melvin Webber
self-dispatch
Advisors
Halladay, Carolyn
Wollman, Lauren
Date of Issue
2017-09
Date
Sep-17
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Police self-deployment, described generally as the unauthorized mass response of officers to critical incidents, is alternately condemned or hailed as heroism. Confined to response narratives in after-action reports, existing literature provides no comprehensive definition. Without clear principles, it is challenging to prevent the problems produced by self-deployment such as traffic congestion and diminished command and control; nevertheless, encouraging the ingenuity and initiative leading to heroic and lifesaving acts is equally difficult. Many of the descriptions of police self-deployment match characteristics of wicked problems, as proposed by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber. Using a case study analysis of police responses to the 2013 Christopher Dorner manhunt and 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, this thesis explored police self-deployment through the lens of wicked problems. A better understanding of the definition resulted in policy and training recommendations, including the suggestions that law enforcement embrace, rather than prohibit, self-deployment and that federally mandated incident command policies incorporate the early minutes of a critical event known as the edge of chaos.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
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Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.