Many emergency situations occur in which police are first on the scene, or where the police are the only ones on the scene because the scene is deemed “not safe” for EMS to enter. In many of these cases, medical treatment is needed, but EMS has not arrived yet or is unable to do so. When situations like this occur, it begs the question: should police be trained to render care before EMS is on the scene? 

     In an article by Mosesso Et al., a study was conducted involving seven suburban communities where police usually responded to the scene before EMS. In this study, police were trained to use, and equipped with AEDs in the case of a cardiac arrest, prior to EMS arrival. The results of the study found that the time to defibrillation decreased from about 12 minutes to a little under 9 minutes. The results also showed that survival rates increased from 3% (without police defibrillation) to 26% on calls where police responded first, concluding that police intervention decreased time to defibrillation and was an independent predictor of survival to hospital discharge. This study shows the benefits when police provide emergency care while waiting for EMS.

     However, not all police departments require EMS training for their police officers. A survey was conducted by the authors of “Pre-Hospital and Disaster Medicine” to determine the level of medical training of law enforcement personnel. The results are as follows:

• 69% had First Responder Training (CPR and First–aid)
• 26% had EMT basic training
• 5 % had EMT Paramedic

     Some departments see the benefit of having police medically trained as EMTs to provide medical treatment for patients until fire or EMS arrives. The Tulsa Police Department, Indianapolis Police Department, and Florence Township Police Department are just a few of the departments that have begun cross-training their police force to provide quick emergency care. 

     In an interview with an EMS educator with Indianapolis EMS, Megan Soultz stated, "They're better equipped to deal with some of the more violent environments that we aren't equipped to go into, so they can provide some of that initial care until we can go in." 

     To better assist the community and respond to emergency calls, at least one EMT officer is on duty for each shift for the Florence Township Police Department. The EMT officer even drives a vehicle that is equipped with oxygen, backboards, various medical equipment, and AEDs. The EMT officer even goes as far as obtaining patient information such as medical history, medications, allergies, and even vital signs in some cases.