# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**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, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/41 "2023-01-22T19:03:11Z")
Being tense is not the same as actively resisting being cuffed. No one is going to care if you are tense if you allow yourself to be cuffed. Actively resisting being cuffed does not have to look like a full blown fight. In fact it almost never does. Cuffing someone who doesn’t want to be cuffed is extremely hard. I believe tv has ruined how we see people getting arrested. The example I use is Stana Kanic on _Castle._ No matter what the size the suspect was this little 100lbs former model would do some arm flippy thing and would immediately have them in cuffs. In the real world most people don’t resist. They either in a small bit of trouble like a traffic warrant and don’t want to turn it into a big thing or they dug themselves into a hole and don’t want to dig deeper. Calmly explaining the situation to them usually gets them to comply. That makes for boring YouTube videos. I can pretty much remember every time I had to roll around with someone because it is relatively infrequent. It’s not because they are tense, it’s because they are a belligerent drunk or just an asshole who doesn’t want to be cuffed. ---
**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, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/42 "2023-01-22T19:52:04Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > > [@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. A felony stop is a very specific thing. It’s what is being described in the OP. It is not what the large percentage of police interactions are. It will only happen when there is a motor vehicle stop and the car is stolen or there is a suspect of a very serious crime in the car. ---
**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, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/43 "2023-01-22T20:19:18Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > > [@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. I try not to get involved in these kinds of threads because they often devolve into “I saw this video and it’s not what you said so you’re wrong.” This is FQ which is better suited to answering what should happen both legally and tactically rather than picking apart individual incidents. There is a large percentage of ACAB posters that make that kind of discussion difficult so I’ve mostly stopped trying. Let’s put “cops yelling at people” in three categories. 1. Situations that don’t warrant raising your voice. That’s just people doing a bad job. There isn’t much to discuss there. 2. Fluid situations that suddenly become dangerous. There is no time to be nice. Clear concise orders must be given. Yes being loud is most likely best. You want to cut through any confusion and not allow them to weigh any other options. No discussion. No deciding what to do. Show me your hands. 3. Felony stops. The purpose of a felony stop is to have separation between the police and suspect. The yelling is necessary because you are out of talking range. Ideally orders should be given over a loudspeaker but not every car is equipped with them. I don’t understand the roll up the window order in the OP. If possible you tell them to roll down the window. Then put both hands out the window and open the door from the outside. It’s designed to get each occupant out of the car separately without any opportunity to reach for a weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/44 "2023-01-22T20:36:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > A felony stop is a very specific thing. It’s what is being described in the OP. It was a single example posted in the OP, but that one example was not meant to set _all_ the parameters of the OP’s query, I don’t think. The question was not “What is the psychology behind police techniques in this one specific incident”. ---
**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, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/45 "2023-01-22T21:01:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I try not to get involved in these kinds of threads because they often devolve into “I saw this video and it’s not what you said so you’re wrong.” I’m certainly interested to hear what you say, and I trust and respect what you tell us about _your_ experiences. But it’s a bit disingenuous to imply that people are being unreasonable in believing the evidence their own eyes in video recordings of the way _other_ cops behave. There’s a reason that people are skeptical about the narrative cops present: it’s precisely because video evidence has so often shown it to be dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/46 "2023-01-22T21:07:02Z")
I don’t have a dog in this fight. If you believe the YouTube vids about airline flights, it’s a miracle so many of them arrive alive. Dumb shit done wrong attracts eyeballs. The humdrum day to day routine of stuff done right does not. ---
**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, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/47 "2023-01-22T21:15:42Z")
But I’d also say that the great majority of (non-humdrum) bodycam videos out there show cops doing a very difficult job faced with belligerent assholes any of whom could pull a gun at any second. I have enough skepticism that I am going to prefer the evidence of my own eyes to a police narrative; but that evidence certainly does not support an “ACAB” narrative either. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/48 "2023-01-23T00:35:10Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Is this is a standard part of police training, or is it just part of police culture? I was specifically taught to say this in the police academy. I don’t know if it was actually part of the curriculum, or if it was just that instructor, though. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/49 "2023-01-23T03:33:13Z")
To recap the question, it was: In giving directions to suspects/perpetrators, police often follow by yelling “Do it now!” Is this a deliberate technique to gain compliance? If so, what is the psychology of this, since it seems that it would induce stress in the subject? It may be that this technique often comes into play in a felony stop, where the commands are things like “Show me your hands” or “drop your weapon” or “get out of your vehicle.” I would not expect this for “Show me your driver’s license.” I am not sure what happens in developing situation, like cops arrive for a domestic dispute call and then shots are fired. The gist of the question is the psychology of gaining compliance. @Loach’s responses have been very enlightening. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/50 "2023-01-23T12:33:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t have a dog in this fight. Good. Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/51 "2023-01-23T16:49:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Dogfighting is a felony Put the dog down! DO IT NOW! ---
**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 23, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/52 "2023-01-23T17:04:15Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Put the dog down! DO IT NOW! What did the current say to the rheostat? ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569/53 "2023-01-23T17:24:40Z")
nevermind [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-behind-police-techniques-do-it-now/978569.md?page=2)