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Few professions in America ask so much of an individual and their family as law enforcement. Every day, police officers leave their homes not knowing if they will return uninjured, permanently disabled, or if their spouse and children may soon be planning a funeral. Yet despite these realities, society often overlooks the enormous physical and emotional sacrifices made by those who wear the badge.

In the early 2000s, I had the opportunity to speak to criminal justice students at colleges about what I believed would be the future of policing. At the time, many of my predictions seemed far-fetched. Smartphones were in their infancy, social media was not yet a dominant force, and the idea that nearly every citizen would carry a high-definition camera in their pocket was difficult to imagine.

Every year, police officers and security professionals are seriously injured or killed because a violent encounter closed to a distance where they had little or no time to react. While communication skills, de-escalation techniques, and defensive tactics are all essential, maintaining appropriate distance from potentially violent individuals remains one of the most effective ways to improve officer safety.