What considerations are required as you approach the scene of a robbery?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In route to the scene of a robbery call, the officer must ensure that all information available from the dispatcher has been obtained, including the answers to the following questions: What is the exact location of the offense, including the type of business? Is the offense in progress? How many suspects are involved? What type of and how many weapons were displayed? What description of the suspect is available? By what method and in what direction did the suspect flee? What is the description of the means of transportation used by the suspect?
In approaching the scene, the officer must be alert for several possibilities:

1. The dispatcher may provide information on the suspects' escape, such as their direction in fleeing from the scene and whether they were on foot or in a vehicle.
2. Information about the target, MO, suspects, vehicles, weapons used, and other factors in recent robberies may help the responding officer recognize the suspects if they are moving away from the scene on the street along which the officer approaches, even if the dispatcher cannot supply any specific information other than the nature of the crime.
3. The fleeing suspects may, as the officer approaches them on the way to the scene, abruptly turn off or fire at the office.
The primary tactical objectives of officers responding to a robbery call are public safety, officer protection, and tactical control of the scene. Secondary objectives include conducting the preliminary investigation, apprehending perpetrators, and recovering property. Arriving at the scene unobserved by the suspects facilitates the achievement of both primary and secondary objectives. It also allows tactical control and the element of surprise to pass from the robbers to the police. Units assigned to a robbery call should plan and coordinate the actions to be taken at the scene. Because the perpetrators may have police scanners, care should be taken with respect to radio transmissions. Arriving officers should not give away their exact positions and should refer to buildings by prearranged letter designations (e.g., "the A building"). They can never assume that the robber(s) have left the scene. Responding units should approach separately on streets parallel to that on which the robbery occurred or is occurring, using emergency lights but not sirens. The use of emergency lights permits more rapid progress through traffic. The reason for not using a siren is that the sound may panic suspects near or at the scene, triggering violence or hostage taking. It is believed that 9 out of 10 hostage situations that develop out of robberies occur because of a too visible first-responding officer. However, remember that most states require a police vehicle responding in an emergency mode to have both its emergency lights and siren activated. Thus, when the tactically correct decision is made to deactivate the siren, the officer's driving must be adjusted accordingly, because now the motoring public no longer has the benefit of "hearing" the approaching police vehicle and being able to yield to it.
At a distance of three to five blocks from the scene in an urban area and much farther in rural settings, the emergency lights should be turned off to avoid possible detection by a lookout. The police officer should begin to smoothly decelerate, thus avoiding engine noise, squealing tires, or "emergency" stops that could give away the police car's arrival. The first officer on the scene must quickly "size up" the area to gather any possible intelligence, including location of the robbers, lookouts, and escape vehicles. The locations of the perpetrators are particularly important given the fact that such criminals may have automatic and other weapons-which they are willing to use. Actually identifying the lookouts may be difficult; two officers in New York City, for instance, were killed by a lookout disguised as a nun. The officer should leave his or her car quietly and move-unobserved-to a protected position to watch, where possible, two sides (e.g., north and east) of the building. One of these sides should be the exit most likely to be used by the robbers. Moving unobserved does not necessarily imply moving quickly. Running into position may invite passersby to "rubberneck," giving away the officer's location. Before moving to any position, the officer should make sure the background of that position, when viewed from the perpetrators' positions, does not silhouette him or her.
The officer in the second unit should take the same precautions as the first in moving into position. The second officer's responsibility is to cover the two remaining sides (e.g., the south and the west). Both officers should keep their vehicles and portable radios at low volume to avoid being detected. The primary and backup officers should be sure that their positions in the lines of fire do not endanger each other.
It is also of particular importance when moving into their respective unobserved positions, officers must not get inside of, that is, between, any possible lookouts and the robbery scene. Such a position would leave them vulnerable to fire from several sides.
Both in approaching the scene and at the scene, officers should avoid action, physical, or situational stereotyping.