RI – L.E.A.D.S. L.E. Active De-escalation Strategies Instructor Training

Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy
L.E.A.D.S.
Law Enforcement Active De-escalation Strategies
3 Day Instructor Training
Aug  25—27, 2026 0830 – 1630

The award-winning L.E.A.D.S.™ (Law Enforcement Active De-escalation Strategies) program was developed in 2007 and has become one of the most recognized and widely implemented de-escalation training systems for law enforcement and corrections professionals throughout the United States.

Unlike many contemporary de-escalation programs, L.E.A.D.S.™ has been field-tested and refined through nearly two decades of real-world application by street officers, deputies, corrections personnel, and trainers nationwide—from Honolulu to Alaska. The program emphasizes practical, measurable, and operationally sound communication and decision-making strategies designed for the realities of today’s public safety environment.

Through a dynamic mix of lectures, demonstrations, role play, and scenario-based applications, students will learn to:

• Recognize and manage aggressive behaviors before they escalate.
• Employ positive communication and proven de-escalation techniques.
• Anger management and confrontation avoidance strategies.
• Emotional modulation when responding to highly emotional incidents.
• Discuss tactical responses when diffusion is ineffective or inappropriate.
• The “Switch” Moment – In high-conflict encounters, there is often a distinct moment when the subject’s behavior shifts from verbal resistance to active aggression. Recognizing this switch is a critical skill.
• Cognitive Lock – Officers can get “stuck” in a single tactic under stress, repeating the same ineffective commands instead of transitioning to a new approach.
• Articulation Matters – In litigation or review, you will not be judged solely on the fact you used force, but on whether you can clearly articulate why verbal tactics were no longer appropriate.
• Officers effectively de-escalate on a daily basis, however there is no evidence to validate. Officer learn to document, quantify and measure evidence to show patterns of success.
• Integrated Training – Strategies on how verbal, physical, and tactical options must be trained together, so the transition between them is seamless.

Certification, Instruction Manual, Digital and Hard Copy with PowerPoints
ONLY $695.00
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What separates this program from many modern de-escalation courses is its grounding in behavioral science and its practical application in the field.”
Sgt. James Pittman, Leon County Sheriff’s Office  – De-escalation Research Project with Florida State University

Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy
1762 Louisquisset Pike – Lincoln, RI 02865
Mr. Gary Driscoll—gary.driscoll@risp.gov / 401-205-1678 (Desk)