Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Federal Law Enforcement Deconfliction

Police-on-police encounters, also referred to as Blue-on-Blue, are serious occurrences that can compromise investigations, cause physical injuries, or worse-result in death to officers, informants and/or innocent bystanders. Law enforcement deconfliction is the protocol that was developed to address this specific issue. This research focuses on the scope and breadth of federal law enforcement deconfliction processes within the United States. An examination of these processes uncovered complex organizational issues and human factors that undermine complete and consistent reporting of both failed and successful deconfliction events. With national oversight and accountability, however, gaps and vulnerabilities in deconfliction operations could be addressed, and a repository to archive and evaluate these efforts could be formed. This thesis proposes that the Blue Diamond Deconfliction Division (BD3) should be established within the United States Attorney's Office to provide deconfliction oversight and reporting, reduce federal law enforcement organizational and fiscal inefficiencies, and most importantly, save lives.