# The psychology behind police techniques: "DO IT NOW!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569 "2023-01-21T14:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/21 "2023-01-22T04:42:28Z")
There is a very specific way felony stops are trained to be conducted. It’s nothing like you are saying. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/22 "2023-01-22T05:01:46Z")
It’s what you see all the time on bodycam footage. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/23 "2023-01-22T07:26:32Z")
What you see on bodycam footage is usually not a felony stop. It’s usually something much more fluid and dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/24 "2023-01-22T08:34:38Z")
Ok. And this thread is not “what happens at a felony stop”, is it. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/25 "2023-01-22T09:26:31Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > they are being anything but polite. I remember specifically during that scene, imagining how terrified those damn hostages must have been! I guess I was kind of expecting the soldiers to be more reassuring and make more of an effort to calm the hostages The uninitiated in a stressful situation like that tend to freeze. The troopers’ job at that moment is to get them out, away from the guns and the grenades. Once they’re in the street and safe there’s time for reassurances. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/26 "2023-01-22T09:44:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Ok. And this thread is not “what happens at a felony stop”, is it. It appears that is what is being described in the OP so yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/27 "2023-01-22T10:01:00Z")
The OP is quite clearly about police tactics in shouting instructions at people. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/28 "2023-01-22T10:08:31Z")
They weren’t ordering coffee. It was during a felony stop. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/29 "2023-01-22T10:17:04Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I remember watching the film _6 Days,_ about the famous siege of London’s Iranian Embassy by a terrorist group and subsequent response and rescue of hostages by the SAS… the soldiers are really shouting at the hostages in an intimidating manner in the process of moving them to safety…I guess I was kind of expecting the soldiers to be more reassuring and make more of an effort to calm the hostages, but that’s the expectation of a layman with no knowledge of how it’s actually supposed to work. Bear in mind that the problem they were facing was the risk that there were terrorists hiding among the evacuating hostages - and there were, in fact. So at that stage they were still primarily concerned about physical safety rather than comfort and reassurance. It went beyond intimidating words - all the hostages were zip-tied after they were taken outside until they could be positively identified. > Two of the terrorists were hiding amongst the hostages; one of them produced a hand grenade when he was identified. An SAS soldier, who was unable to shoot for concern of hitting a hostage or another soldier, pushed the grenade-wielding terrorist to the bottom of the stairs, where two other soldiers shot him dead. > The rescued hostages and the remaining terrorist, who was still concealed amongst them, were taken into the embassy’s back garden and restrained on the ground while they were identified. The last terrorist was identified by Sim Harris and led away by the SAS. [Iranian Embassy siege - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Embassy_siege) I recall also that there were rumors that unofficial orders had been passed down (presumably originating from Thatcher) that the best outcome would be if no terrorists survived, and that the last terrorist may owe his life to the fact that he was outside and TV cameras were present by the time he was identified among the hostages and led away. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/30 "2023-01-22T11:57:05Z")
I’ve often thought about the command to “stop resisting!” when there are three grown men on top of you, one with his knee in your back and another smashing your head into the pavement. Placing myself in that situation mentally, I cannot imagine what not resisting would look like. Or even if it would be possible. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/31 "2023-01-22T12:25:15Z")
Meh, I’ve seen plenty of bodycam footage where cops are shouting “stop resisting” because people are continuing to, you know, resist. Even if it looks like a cop has the person under physical control, you can tell if a person underneath you is still tensed up and aggressive. And it makes sense to me that they shout it, because if you’re dealing with a drunk or enraged person, it’s a reminder that the LEO has a legal right to use physical force, that resisting has serious consequences, that they are not just engaged in a brawl with a random person. No doubt bad cops have sometimes shouted it to try to set a false narrative for the bodycam footage, but that doesn’t imply that there are not good reasons for good cops to do it. Conversely, I’ve seen plenty of footage at people screaming at cops that they are not resisting when they clearly are. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/32 "2023-01-22T12:55:20Z")
I’m not sure I could _NOT_ be tensed up under those circumstances. mmm ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/33 "2023-01-22T13:48:31Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@pjd](#): > > > > I too was wonderin’ about the “close your windows” thing. > > Maybe it was drizzling. Sensible advice, really. Police aren’t all bad. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/34 "2023-01-22T13:54:53Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’m not sure I could _NOT_ be tensed up under those circumstances. This. Yelling at people escalates the situation. Maybe the show of force often works, but it always makes the situation violent, and my guess is that it often backfires, and leads to people freaking out and doing things that they might not have done if they hadn’t been verbally assaulted. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/35 "2023-01-22T13:55:05Z")
“Feel free to put your hands in your pockets to keep them warm.” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/36 "2023-01-22T15:28:34Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Ok. And this thread is not “what happens at a felony stop”, is it. The OP is quite clearly asking about a felony stop. They even said “This did not appear to be a traffic stop but some sort of coordinated apprehension.” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/37 "2023-01-22T15:32:26Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The OP is quite clearly asking about a felony stop. The _example_ in the body of the OP may be a felony stop. The thread is about the psychology behind police communication techniques that involve shouting aggressively at suspects, and that doesn’t happen only in felony stops. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/38 "2023-01-22T15:40:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The thread is about the psychology behind police communication techniques that involve shouting aggressively at suspects, and that doesn’t happen only in felony stops. While it doesn’t only happen in felony stops, that’s likely the only scenario where the police begin their interaction with aggressive commands. In other encounters, police almost invariably begin their interaction in a conversational tone, and only when things get escalated do police then resort to issuing commands. Which, I believe, brings us back to the factual answer behind the psychology of police interactions. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Police operate under a checklist commonly described as “Ask. Tell. Make.” > > First you ask the subject to do something. Then you tell the subject to do something. Then you (and your pals if necessary) make the subject do something. “Make” as in use force. > > The “DO IT NOW” is shorthand for “Or else we’re going to grab you / beat you / tase you / shoot you. This is your last chance to avoid that. Be smart or be hurt.” As for why felony stops don’t begin in a more friendly manner. > [@Loach](#): > > Ask isn’t an option. It’s reserved for situations like a stolen car up to apprehending a murder suspect. It’s not for routine traffic stops. Police are reacting to violent situations, where they are already past the point of discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/39 "2023-01-22T15:45:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They weren’t ordering coffee. It was during a felony stop. Either practically none of the myriad videos on the internet are from felony stops, or else it’s very common for cops to ignore the training that you say they have. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/40 "2023-01-22T17:19:58Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Even if it looks like a cop has the person under physical control, you can tell if a person underneath you is still tensed up and aggressive. I can’t imagine not being tensed up if I were down on the ground with cops on top of me, no matter how hard I was trying to be non-resisting. Hell, it’s hard not to be a little tensed up if I’m sitting in the car being questioned, having been pulled over for something along the lines of a busted tail light. And I’m an old white woman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569.md?page=3)