ICAT

An innovative, evidence-based approach to use-of-force training, ICAT provides first responding police officers with the tools, skills, and options they need to defuse a range of critical incidents successfully and safely. ICAT was developed by PERF with input from hundreds of law enforcement professionals nationwide. It is currently being taught in police agencies of all sizes and in all parts of the country.

ICAT focuses on situations involving persons in crisis and those who are unarmed or armed with weapons other than firearms. The training program is anchored by the Critical Decision-Making Model that helps officers assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. ICAT incorporates different skill sets into a unified training approach that emphasizes scenario-based exercises, as well as lecture and case study opportunities.
The ICAT training program consists of seven modules:

• Module 1: Introduction. This module provides an overview of the ICAT program and how it was developed.
• Module 2: The Critical Decision-Making Model. This module teaches the Critical Decision-Making Model (CDM), which is the backbone of the entire ICAT program. Instructors cover the five steps of the CDM – collect information; assess situation, threats, and risks; consider police powers and agency policy; identify options, determine best course of action; and act, review, and re-assess – as well as the CDM “core,” which includes an agency’s mission statement, values, ethics, and guiding principles.
• Module 3: Crisis Recognition. In this module, officers learn how to identify those who are experiencing a crisis. Topics include mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and contributing factors to a crisis.
• Module 4: Tactical Communications. This module provides guidance on interacting with those in crisis. It discusses verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, and making a connection.
• Module 5: Suicide by Cop. This module addresses “suicide-by-cop” incidents, meaning those in which a person attempts to die by suicide by forcing an officer to use lethal force. It includes guidance on recognizing and responding to these incidents, including advice about what to say to the individual.
• Module 6: Medical Behavioral Emergencies. In this module, officers will learn how to handle situations that may require them to restrain but could also pose a heightened safety risk to the individual that they are restraining, with particular attention given to situations involving subjects experiencing medical-behavioral emergencies.
• Module 7: Operational Tactics. In this module, instructors discuss tactical considerations before, during, and after a critical incident. Topics include developing a working strategy, using good positioning and teamwork during an incident, and debriefing after an incident.
• Module 8: Step Up and Step In. The final module provides officers with guidance on how they might prevent problems before they occur. This may include intervening when a colleague is about to make a mistake or speaking up about a plan they think is more likely to safely resolve a situation.