Doug Wyllie from Police magazine has just published an interesting article that’s relevant to police reports: Focus of Attention – Integrating Heady Concepts into Regular Police Training. (Click the link to read it.)

Wyllie is especially interested in how officers are trained to deal with use-of-force situations. He offers practical advice about scientific terms like “inattentional blindness” and “auditory exclusion” that might be misused and misunderstood in a courtroom.

He notes that trainers need to prepare officers to use these terms with precision to avoid complications later on. He adds that often it’s better to avoid the scientific terms and use your own words to describe what happened at the scene.

There’s a police report connection too. The article quotes retired sergeant James Borden:  “I avoid using these terms in a report. What I would say is the officer was intensely focused on this particular threat and did not perceive the other aspects that we potentially see in video [after the fact].”

Wyllie’s article is well worth reading!