CHAPTER 11
OPERATIONAL
PROCEDURE
WHAT IS OPERATIONAL
PROCEDURE
Operational procedures are the standard policies designed to give
guidance and direction to police or law enforcement officers
regardless of the types of functions to be performed, or police or law
enforcement operations to be conducted.
GENERAL OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
The general guidelines in operational procedures, are as follows:
1. The use of force, especially firearms shall be applied only as a last resort when all
other peaceful and non-violent means have been exhausted.
2. Under all circumstances, the use of force especially firearms, is justifiable only by
virtue of the "doctrine of self-de fense and defense of strangers"As stated by the
Supreme Court, nobody, including the police and even the military, is above, but
subject to the law.
3. Whenever resorted to, only necessary and reasonable force for self-defense, defense
of stranger to subdue or overcome a clear and imminent danger shall be applied.
4. In case of an actual shootout with the subject, panic firing shall be avoided. Panic
firing is done by opening fire with everyone else following suit. The police or law
enforcement officer in charge of the operations shall see to it that he or she exercises
control over his or her members, and that they shall fire only when necessary.
5. The police of law enforcement officer shall ensure that no bystanders are hit, hence,
extreme caution shall be observed when firing a weapon in congested areas. Here, the
practical rule of shooting only to save life could well be applied.
6. After a shootout, the police or law enforcement officer shall check whether the suspect
still
poses danger or has been wounded and disabled. If wounded, the suspect(s) shall then
be
brought to the nearest hospital for medical treatment with adequate security.
7. The police or law enforcement sirens and megaphones shall be used to influence or
warn the
offenders or suspects to stop and to peacefully give up.
8. In case of unavoidable engagement with criminal elements, the immediate removal of
casualties from the physical objective shall be undertaken after the necessary sketches,
pictures, and other investigative requirements are accomplished. The victims' bodies
shall
always segregated from those of the suspects. All the SOPs of crime scene investigation
shall
be strictly followed.
9. The use of force, especially the use of firearms, shall be tempered with such
considerations
SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE
1. There shall be a Crisis Management Team (CMT) in every locality trained and ready
for deployment.
2. There shall be only one ground commander in the area, and the incident area shall be
cordoned.
3. Negotiator shall be designated, and no one shall be allowed to talk to the suspects
without clearance from the negotiating panel or ground commander.
4. Assaults shall be well-planned and assaulting teams alerted for deployment in
casenegotiation fails.
5. An ambulance with medical crew and fire truck shall be detailed at the incident area.
6. Proper coordination with all participating elements is necessary to unify efforts in
solving the crisis.
STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURE
1. General Tasking. When a crisis situation arises out of man-made emergencies,
the Peace and Order Council (POC) at the appropriate level shall be the operational
body that shall primarily
act on the crisis situation. When a crisis results from aircraft hijacking, disturbances in
civil
aviation, or terrorism that has national significance, the National Actions Committee on
Anti-
Hijacking and Anti-Terrorism (NACAHT) shall principally deal with the crisis situation.
STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURE
2. Initial Action. All police or law enforcement units are required to understand and
acquaint
themselves on crisis management doctrine as such, they will be held responsible for all
their
actions. Any police or law enforcement unit taking cognizance of the incident shall
immediately
undertake appropriate actions to contain the crisis situation, and report the matter to
the proper
authorities through channel, regardless of whether such situation or condition is within,
or
beyond its capability to handle.
STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURE
3. Action Phase. The action phase begins as soon as the on-scene Advance
Command Post
(ACP) and the tactical intervention are established, service support units, negotiation
teams, and
the public affairs personnel arive and deployed. The action phase consists of two
distinct
activities, negotiation and tactical action, or actual intervention which may take place
independently, either simultaneously, or in succession.
STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURE
4. Post Action. This stage begins as soon as the perpetrators surrender, or when
they are
captured or neutralized and the crisis situation are deemed cleared. The Ground
Commander(GC) ensures that necessary post-action activities are undertaken to ensure
normalcy, bring the responsible to the court. n this instance, the numerous activities in
hostage
situation, as must be given discussed earlier consideration.
PROTOCOLS IN OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
The first priority is to isolate and contain the hostage taker and to secure the perimeter.
Thegoal is to keep the hostage taker in, and keep others out. Some form of communication
must be established with the hostage takers because the sooner a dialogue begins the less
time they consider drastic options.
When commencing with the negotiation the police negotiator shall as much as possible
minimize background distractions, such as more than one person speaking at a time,
background radio chatter, road noise, bullying by bystanders, agitation made by the
spectators,etc.
Finally one of the most interesting dimensions of a hostage taking incident is the fact that
the hostage takers, is often very knowledgeable about the environment and the police or
law enforcement operational procedures during hostage situation.
MATRIX OF OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
This refers to the statement on the different activities, events and the sequence
sequence of
elapsed timne in harmony with the chronological operational undertakings to be made
by the
crisis management team and the police negotiators, and is which prescribing the course
of
action in a precipitating condition or situation with a relative high volatile terrorists
hostage
taking incident.
ELAPSED TIME IN OPERATIONAL
PROCEDURES
Several authorities have underscored the importance of negotiation's saving time during
hostage situation or barricaded person incident. Letting time to pass has advantages during
hostage situation, regardless of whether or not it serves the following: (1) reduce the anxiety or
emotional burden of the individual in crisis; (2) completely and optimally deploy a crisis
intervention structure; (3) create a relationship of trust between the hostage takers and police
or
law enforcement negotiators; (4) intensively gather information; (5) reduce the undesirable
effects of intoxicants; (6) increase the chances of establishing the "Stockholm Syndrome, " if
there are hostages; and (7) foster the desire for certain basic, but negotiable needs.
TRI-MEDIA OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
1. Advance Preparations. The following are the activities: (a) designate police or
law
enforcement officer for prompt and effective liaisons with media and to assist in
preparing
news releases, as well as to respond to media inquiries; (b) get acquainted with news
media.
personalities; (c) understand that news media personalities are just doing their job; and
(d)
develop: a plan of action for handling the media prior to a crisis.
TRI-MEDIA OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
2. During Terrorists Incident. The following are the activities: (a) establish a media
center close
to the physical objective but not along the way of the participating police of law enforcement
officers during facts of the case and provide operations; (b) determine the preliminary them to
media as soon as possible; (c) give regular updates on the crisis situation; (d) the media
liaisons should remain with the press to provide correct information in order to counter rumors;
(e) when an incident ends, make sure that the media are advised and briefed: () try to assist
media personalities with their basic needs; and (g) when the opportunity arises, allow the media
access to the location for a photo and video coverage opportunity.
TRI-MEDIA OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
3. Points to Remember. The following are the points to remember (a) the public
information officer must maintain control of the media releasing only what is authorized by the
ground commander; (b) the public information officer should be sincere in emphasizing concern to
the welfare of all those involved in the drama, such as, hostages, police or law enforcement
officers, terrorists, victims, by-standers and media; (c) apparent, such as the use of chemical
agents, snipers, etc., and (e) discuss with the media how they can assist in the resolution of the
problem.
The following basic steps in handling the media must be observed: (a) set-up an area for the
media; (b) initially issue a prepared statement and answer no questions for the moment; (c) the
designated public information officer should advice that briefing will be made at a certain time; and
(d) continue to give updated briefings at regular intervals.
TRI-MEDIA OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
4. Procedures in Handling the Media. Handling the media is not an easy task.
Here are the guidelines to be observed in order to establish neutral cooperation with
the media: (a) allow the media to situate themselves in the outer perimeter; (b) assign
a public information officer who will be in constant communication with the media; (c)
designate an area for the media; (d) give frequent briefings; (e) do not allow the meda
inside the advance command post; and (f) the presence of media should be considered
an opportunity not a threat.
TRI-MEDIA OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
5. Watch Out for Questions. The following questions must be carefuliy
answered and dealt with by the public information officer o PIO: (a) what acctions the
erisis managenment team is going to take; (b) what are the addresses, names,
telephone numbers of the hostages and the terrorists; (C) what are the mental states of
the terrorists, (d) what are their specitic demands; and (e) when is the deadline set-
forth by the hostage takers.
SIGNIFICANCE OF OPERATIONAL
PROCEDURES
The operational procedures are the guiding tool that the crisis management team needs
to best
address the hostage situation or barricaded person's incident. lmplementing the
operational
procedures in various hostage situations or barricaded person's incidents should revolve
around
several common themes, such as, protection of iives and limbs of all the participants,
and
prevention of collateral damages, as a resultant effect or consequence of the actual
police or
law enforcement operations during crisis management.