The late Jeff Cooper's "Color Code" has been embraced and taught by competent Instructors for MANY years. Most of you are quite familiar with the Concepts, But a review of These essential survival levels is worthwhile.
Cooper broke down Into alertness levels four colors of escalating degrees of preparation for the use of deadly force. This color code system is a mental process, not a physical one, and Should Be utilized Whether or not you are armed - though being armed is always preferred. Being alert may help you to Avoid a Deadly Threat in the first place, Which is always the preferred outcome.
White
In condition White, you are relaxed and unaware of what is going on around you. Ideally, a police officer is only in white When asleep, soft drop realisticallyâ Our guard Often we When we are at home or in Some other EU environment safe to assume we, like the squad room. Since Even police stations have been attacked, it is better to swear more alert Even When you are in your "lair." As the Lakewood coffee shop ambush test, you simply can't swear on white When you are in uniform, Whether on duty or off .
If you are attacked in condition white, you may very well die - unless you are lucky. I prefer to not depend on luck.
Yellow
In condition yellow, you Remain relaxed, soft Aware of WHO are and what is around you. Merely This Means That you are Paying Attention to the sights and sounds surround you That Whether you are at home or moving in society. Condition yellow DOES NOT Equata with paranoia or any other irrational fear of persons or places. Instead, you simply have moved your alertness to a level of Attention That will Prevent you from being totally surprised by the actions of another person.
While walking through an area loosely Will you keep track of anyone behind you. When Choosing a seat in a restaurant, Will you position yourself to see the entrance or to minimize the number of people behind you Might Be WHO.
You Do not Need to insist on Securing the "gunfighter seat" Which Will put your back to a dead corner and the entrance to your face, Because you are not Anticipating a Threat, you are Merely conducting an inventory of your Surroundings and the other people around you. You Will Also eu running a cursory "What If" mental visualization of a Threat Could Appear Where and what your reaction (s) Should Be.
If you are attacked in condition yellow, it should not come as a total surprise. Your response to a Threat shouldnt have been pre-Planned to Some extent, allowing you to simply run an Existing plan Rather than having to make one up Quickly the while under fire. A competent police officer MUST be in condition yellow Whenever They are on duty - or armed When the while off duty.
Orange
In condition orange, you have something of interest Identified That may or may not test a Threat to swear. Until you Determine the true nature of whatever has piqued your interest, your "radar" is narrowed to concentrate on the Possible Threat And Will Remain So Focused Until you are satisfied no Threat exists.
Contacts you make throughout your shift - either dispatched or self-Initiated - Obvious Examples are orange focus of a condition. These people are not currently a Threat, or Would you move swiftly and smoothly to the next Higher color. Instead, simply Individuals These Could Be a Threat, condition so you shift from yellow (soft relaxed alert) to orange condition (specific alert).
You may make this shift harmless Many times a day as you go about your normal routine. If someone or something looks out of place, you change from a 360 degree to a more general Awareness Focused concentration in a specific direction. At the Same time, you can't drop your general Awareness, Because a bad guy in front of you may swear a distraction for another behind.
If you are attacked in condition orange, You Should Be expecting the attack. Further, hopefully Will you swear SINCE facing your attacker you have already shifted your focus in His direction. If you are well trained, your Subconscious mind Will have been searching your hard drive for Similar events or training sessions you have already Experienced, or any pre-visualized "What If" Situations you've cataloged as Possible solutions shouldnt an attack take place.
Red
If the focus of your Attention in condition orange does something you find threatening, Will you shift to condition red.
That time Red Notice IS NOT condition the firing stroke, as Instructors Some have misconstrued from Cooper's Teachings. Instead, red condition simply changes the focus of your Attention from a Potential Threat to a Potential target. Will you draw your weapon, or move still further to sight acquisition, only the if the target's actions dictate Potential Such a response. Once you've shifted to condition red, You Can not Be surprised by your primary adversary and you are fully prepared The REPELE boarders to push the incident he shouldnt That lighthouse. But, your intense concentration on a forward Threat Will Lessen your Ability to Maintain Some degree of 360-degree Awareness for unknown threats That may come from other directions. Effective under high-stress training Conditions Will you help Avoid the tunnel vision That Some describe as "akin to looking through a toilet paper tube."
If possible, in Both Conditions orange and red, move to a position That will give you a tactical advantage. Ideally, you want a wall or behind you Previously cleared area and Some sort of solid move behind cover shouldnt Can you break out shooting. Having one or more backup Officers greatly at this point Can Enhance situational Awareness, the if - and only f - one of Those Officers Remains alert in all directions - a rear guard. All too Often, Every officer on-scene Concentrates on the Threat with no Regard for 360 degree security.
If you are attacked in red, You Should Be Fully Prepared to defend yourself. Whether or not you have a gun in hand or on target Will depend on the circumstances, soft mentally, you are already ahead of the game.
K.I.S.S.
Some trainers try to Improve on Cooper's color code by adding more Stages, like "black" for Dealing with the Aftermath of a shooting. One trainer uses "black" to describe someone totally immobilized with panic - a condition the color code is Designed to Prevent. I say, keep the system simple. Four colors Seems to me to swear about right, allowing enough variety for all without being too Complicated Problems.
Some insist you can't go through life without using this system; becoming a hair-trigger paranoid person who is dangerous to self and others Ones. I believe well-adjusted Police Officers Can run through the color code Every day dozens of times and swear no get worse for wear. Most Experienced WHO Police Officers learn the color code Realize They have been taking steps on developer's own These All Along.
Most great ideas Like training, this four-step process Merely codifies what good cops have learned over the years to be on developer's own. By teaching new recruits this life-saving system for situational Awareness, Can we say start out with the knowledge others have gained through a lifetime achievement of survival on the streets.
Cooper broke down Into alertness levels four colors of escalating degrees of preparation for the use of deadly force. This color code system is a mental process, not a physical one, and Should Be utilized Whether or not you are armed - though being armed is always preferred. Being alert may help you to Avoid a Deadly Threat in the first place, Which is always the preferred outcome.
White
In condition White, you are relaxed and unaware of what is going on around you. Ideally, a police officer is only in white When asleep, soft drop realisticallyâ Our guard Often we When we are at home or in Some other EU environment safe to assume we, like the squad room. Since Even police stations have been attacked, it is better to swear more alert Even When you are in your "lair." As the Lakewood coffee shop ambush test, you simply can't swear on white When you are in uniform, Whether on duty or off .
If you are attacked in condition white, you may very well die - unless you are lucky. I prefer to not depend on luck.
Yellow
In condition yellow, you Remain relaxed, soft Aware of WHO are and what is around you. Merely This Means That you are Paying Attention to the sights and sounds surround you That Whether you are at home or moving in society. Condition yellow DOES NOT Equata with paranoia or any other irrational fear of persons or places. Instead, you simply have moved your alertness to a level of Attention That will Prevent you from being totally surprised by the actions of another person.
While walking through an area loosely Will you keep track of anyone behind you. When Choosing a seat in a restaurant, Will you position yourself to see the entrance or to minimize the number of people behind you Might Be WHO.
You Do not Need to insist on Securing the "gunfighter seat" Which Will put your back to a dead corner and the entrance to your face, Because you are not Anticipating a Threat, you are Merely conducting an inventory of your Surroundings and the other people around you. You Will Also eu running a cursory "What If" mental visualization of a Threat Could Appear Where and what your reaction (s) Should Be.
If you are attacked in condition yellow, it should not come as a total surprise. Your response to a Threat shouldnt have been pre-Planned to Some extent, allowing you to simply run an Existing plan Rather than having to make one up Quickly the while under fire. A competent police officer MUST be in condition yellow Whenever They are on duty - or armed When the while off duty.
Orange
In condition orange, you have something of interest Identified That may or may not test a Threat to swear. Until you Determine the true nature of whatever has piqued your interest, your "radar" is narrowed to concentrate on the Possible Threat And Will Remain So Focused Until you are satisfied no Threat exists.
Contacts you make throughout your shift - either dispatched or self-Initiated - Obvious Examples are orange focus of a condition. These people are not currently a Threat, or Would you move swiftly and smoothly to the next Higher color. Instead, simply Individuals These Could Be a Threat, condition so you shift from yellow (soft relaxed alert) to orange condition (specific alert).
You may make this shift harmless Many times a day as you go about your normal routine. If someone or something looks out of place, you change from a 360 degree to a more general Awareness Focused concentration in a specific direction. At the Same time, you can't drop your general Awareness, Because a bad guy in front of you may swear a distraction for another behind.
If you are attacked in condition orange, You Should Be expecting the attack. Further, hopefully Will you swear SINCE facing your attacker you have already shifted your focus in His direction. If you are well trained, your Subconscious mind Will have been searching your hard drive for Similar events or training sessions you have already Experienced, or any pre-visualized "What If" Situations you've cataloged as Possible solutions shouldnt an attack take place.
Red
If the focus of your Attention in condition orange does something you find threatening, Will you shift to condition red.
That time Red Notice IS NOT condition the firing stroke, as Instructors Some have misconstrued from Cooper's Teachings. Instead, red condition simply changes the focus of your Attention from a Potential Threat to a Potential target. Will you draw your weapon, or move still further to sight acquisition, only the if the target's actions dictate Potential Such a response. Once you've shifted to condition red, You Can not Be surprised by your primary adversary and you are fully prepared The REPELE boarders to push the incident he shouldnt That lighthouse. But, your intense concentration on a forward Threat Will Lessen your Ability to Maintain Some degree of 360-degree Awareness for unknown threats That may come from other directions. Effective under high-stress training Conditions Will you help Avoid the tunnel vision That Some describe as "akin to looking through a toilet paper tube."
If possible, in Both Conditions orange and red, move to a position That will give you a tactical advantage. Ideally, you want a wall or behind you Previously cleared area and Some sort of solid move behind cover shouldnt Can you break out shooting. Having one or more backup Officers greatly at this point Can Enhance situational Awareness, the if - and only f - one of Those Officers Remains alert in all directions - a rear guard. All too Often, Every officer on-scene Concentrates on the Threat with no Regard for 360 degree security.
If you are attacked in red, You Should Be Fully Prepared to defend yourself. Whether or not you have a gun in hand or on target Will depend on the circumstances, soft mentally, you are already ahead of the game.
K.I.S.S.
Some trainers try to Improve on Cooper's color code by adding more Stages, like "black" for Dealing with the Aftermath of a shooting. One trainer uses "black" to describe someone totally immobilized with panic - a condition the color code is Designed to Prevent. I say, keep the system simple. Four colors Seems to me to swear about right, allowing enough variety for all without being too Complicated Problems.
Some insist you can't go through life without using this system; becoming a hair-trigger paranoid person who is dangerous to self and others Ones. I believe well-adjusted Police Officers Can run through the color code Every day dozens of times and swear no get worse for wear. Most Experienced WHO Police Officers learn the color code Realize They have been taking steps on developer's own These All Along.
Most great ideas Like training, this four-step process Merely codifies what good cops have learned over the years to be on developer's own. By teaching new recruits this life-saving system for situational Awareness, Can we say start out with the knowledge others have gained through a lifetime achievement of survival on the streets.