Framework explainer
PERF's ICAT De-Escalation Training, Explained
ICAT, short for Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics, is a de-escalation training guide published by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). It teaches officers to slow encounters down and work a continuous loop of assess, communicate, and reassess, especially for situations that do not involve a subject armed with a firearm.
What ICAT is
ICAT, Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics, is a de-escalation training guide the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) published for encounters that do not involve a subject armed with a firearm. Its signature move is to slow the situation down and run a continuous loop: assess what is happening, communicate, then reassess and adjust. Communication and tactics are treated as one task, not separate phases.
This page is an explainer. CodeBlu credits PERF for its public ICAT training guide. CodeBlu is not partnered with, certified by, or endorsed by PERF or any other organization.
How ICAT relates to de-escalation
ICAT is one of the established frameworks behind modern police de-escalation training. Where de-escalation is the broad goal, ICAT supplies the moment-to-moment decision process that gets an officer there: the assess-communicate-reassess rhythm an officer can actually run under pressure.
How CodeBlu uses the ICAT rhythm
CodeBlu is not an ICAT course or certification. The CodeBlu Method is our own framework, informed by ICAT and other public work, and its scenarios are built to exercise that assess-communicate-reassess loop in real time. Officers talk through a scenario by voice, the subject reacts, and a per-competency after-action review scores how the officer worked the decision cycle. Practicing the rhythm is the point of a crisis intervention training simulator, or try the demo.
Frequently asked questions
- What is PERF's ICAT?
- ICAT, short for Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics, is a de-escalation training guide published by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). It teaches officers to slow encounters down and work a continuous loop of assess, communicate, and reassess, especially for situations that do not involve a subject armed with a firearm.
- How does ICAT relate to de-escalation?
- ICAT is a de-escalation framework. Its core idea, slowing the situation down and cycling through assess, communicate, and reassess, is de-escalation put into a repeatable decision process rather than a set of phrases. It treats communication and tactics as one integrated task, not separate phases.
- Does ICAT-style de-escalation training count toward Colorado Rule 28?
- ICAT is de-escalation training, and de-escalation is a non-perishable topic that can count toward the discretionary 12 hours of the Colorado P.O.S.T. Rule 28 annual 24, addressing the de-escalation requirement in C.R.S. 24-31-315. Eligibility is the chief or sheriff's decision. CodeBlu provides training and records but does not submit to POST.
- Is CodeBlu affiliated with PERF?
- No. This is an explainer. CodeBlu credits the Police Executive Research Forum for its public ICAT training guide, but CodeBlu is not partnered with, certified by, or endorsed by PERF or any other organization.
Practice the decision cycle
Try the demo scenario, or see how CodeBlu trains de-escalation.