On this page:
So How Does It Work? | So What's Our Approach? | Shadow Dancing | Secondary Victory | Counting Coup | Attack Range | Controlling Where He Attacks | Command Presence | Pain As A Motivation | De-Escalation | Threat Display | END IT NOW! | Alpha/Beta Behavior | Getting Attacked 101

Why is Control Presence an important tool for police, correctional officers and security professionals? 

Because it reduces the number of physical assaults an officer will face.

It does this by enlightening the officer of the incredible importance that tactical thinking and positioning have on whether or not he or she will be attacked. For good or bad, you are in far more control over that than you think.

Control Presence can be understood as: De-escalation with a smile ... and superior firepower. But that wouldn't convey how effective it is. If you want to get all philosophical, control presence comes closer to Sun Tzu's: For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Or you could say it's a way of getting people to do what you want without having to use force -- or do paperwork about using force. That's kind of a Working Joe's version of Sun Tzu, but it's the same idea.

In a very real sense, it's sending a would-be attacker a message. A message that tells him he cannot succeed by using violence ... therefore, he's better off taking the other (more reasonable option) you are offering. At the same communicating to him that you aren't just confident in your ability to handle him, but you're ready to put him down if he gets stupid.

This is why you are polite and calmly smiling at him ... because you know you have superior firepower. You're so on top of it, you can afford to be polite and calm.

So How Does It Work?
Before we answer that question, let us ask you one: Why do people become violent?

Please, take the time to answer that to yourself before reading any further.

We've asked thousands of law enforcement officers that questions and they have all answered correctly ... even though they all answered differently. They usually come up with answers like 'anger, fear, pride, revenge, etc., etc..' Like we said all of these answer are right. But they are all manifestations of a deeper answer (or if you prefer bigger umbrella answer).

That is: People become violent because they want something.

And whether it is a momentary emotional choice, a life long pattern or an burst of intoxicated stupidity, violence seems to be the best way to get it.

Control Presence works by identifying
   1) pre-attack signals and
   2) requirements for an attack
   3) what the motive for violence is

By knowing these an officer can not only identify when an attack is about to occur, but send the message that he/she is NOT safe to attack. By this we mean the officer is personally not safe to attack. This is over and above any institutional authority the officer represents.

An additional message is sent that violence won't work to get the criminal/ violent person what he wants. No matter what his goals are for using violence  he will be subdued with embarrassing speed and ease. Which is not an idle threat.  The same actions that send the message that the officer isn't safe to attack, really do make that person difficult to attack. If the suspect does become violent, the officer can easily and effectively overwhelm him. This is because the officer is subtly controlling and limiting the perp's options for violence -- before (or hopefully without) ever physically engaging.

An experienced and dangerous fighter will recognize this and usually cease. For those situations that do become physical, t the attacker discovers too late that the "opening" that he thought would bring him easy victory is, in fact, a trap. This trap that allows you to easily defeat, control, restrain and remove his will to resist.

So What's Our Approach?
Control Presence is a blending of effective defensive tactics and what we call 'front line psychology.' By front line psychology we mean we are more focused on stopping unacceptable behavior than anything else. Since we're the ones who are going to be spitting blood if this continues, we don't care that he fell off his tricycle when he was four. Our attitude is officers need something quick, down, dirty and effective to de-escalate or prevent violence. Therefore our attitude is "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't trying hard enough."

Although always ready for violence and use of force (the two are not synonymous), in Control Presence everything up to lethal force is a form of negotiation and maneuvering -- so as not to have to use more force. In essence, our attitude is that while we aren't afraid of using force, we hate paperwork. So resolving the situation through out thinking and out maneuvering the violent person saves us that burden.

Here are some of the foundations that Control Presence is built upon.

Shadow Dancing
Before you follow any other links on this page, start here. Shadow Dancing is an articulation of a skill that every cop two weeks out of the academy starts to develop ... but NOBODY ever talks about. That's because until now, nobody has had a name for it. And the best shadow dancers are those officers who for some reason the troublemakers just seem to calm down around when they walk in.