The danger facing those in the law enforcement profession is a well-known concept to all police officers. In the past 10 years, more than 1,500 U.S. officers have been killed in the line of duty, and countless injuries have been sustained as a result of close contact with perpetrators and various on-the-job accidents.1 Despite the valiant efforts of many stakeholders within U.S. law enforcement at federal, tribal, state, or local levels, the number of officers killed or seriously injured is unacceptable and may be preventable.
U.S. law enforcement is better trained and better equipped now than it has ever been, yet officers continue to grieve regularly over the loss of fallen brethren. One effort that crosses all boundaries related to policy development, enhanced training, and new equipment and that has shown significant positive outcomes in saving the lives of police officers is Street Survival: Casualty Care or Self-Aid/Buddy-Aid (SABA). SABA and its related use of tactics, medical adjuncts, and other nuances is a robust training concept borrowed from the U.S. military community for use by law enforcement. Originally based on the military?s Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) training program, the current SABA programs being taught around the United States have been altered to better meet the needs of law enforcement in terms of injury patterns and rules of engagement. This new curriculum can be located within the published guidelines of the Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) Program.2 Many similarities exist between the two programs, which were both designed to reduce fatalities that result from traumatic injuries.
