Riot Prevention And Control: A Police Officer’s Guide to Managing Violent and Nonviolent Crowds

Capt. Charles Beene handled hundreds of riots, protests, parades and large celebrations during his almost three decades with the San Francisco Police Department. His commonsense approach to crowd management shows police officers how to use special tactics, equipment and training to ensure that public gatherings do not degenerate into full-blown riots, as well as how to switch instantly to a different set of tactics, equipment and training if a riot does break out. Just some of the topics covered in this complete riot manual include the seven types of crowd events that can turn into riots; the tricky science of understanding crowd dynamics; the special command structures for police commanders and frontline officers that are essential for effective crowd control; the differences in handling planned (major parades, large-scale protests) vs. spontaneous (sudden brawls, out-of-control parties) events; the serious business of dispersing crowds, performing multiple arrests and implementing other use-of-force procedures; and more.