planned arrest

[tino1]

I went out on a planned arrest a week ago. We had a bench warrant from a judge for a guy who was supposed to be living with a lady who I currently have on probation. I work for the state parole board and this lady is on state probation. I had with me another agent from my office, two local police officers, and two sheriffs from a bordering county who were attempting to execute the bench warrant. This guy who we were going after, has outstanding firearms charges. Talk about stressful!! It seems that you can plan and plan and plan, and then you get to the house and all hell breaks loose! There were two small children in the house who were screaming, my probationer as well was acting a fool, and this guy was hiding under a bed in a small bedroom. No gun found, everyone was secured and the arrest was successful. This for me, is always a stressful event!! But I have found, that proper planning is paramount to a successful planned arrest. Just my 2 cents.

[MacLeod]

Very good point. Pre-planning is a must. There are those that will argue that the first thing out the window is "the plan", and this may be true, but just knowing that there is a plan can elminate some of the stress by providing confidence.

Situations are very fluid in this line of work, but I for one am a firm believer in having a plan, and having it documented. It helps me "not worry" so much by addressing some of the liability. If things do go to hell, and fast, the first thing Command is going to do is make sure there was "a plan".