Ahead of the ST15 South conference and exhibition, we feature one of the local speakers; the personal safety and conflict management trainer Vince Donovan, pictured.
He’s speaking on Wednesday morning, April 15, during the Security TWENTY 15 conference at the Bristol City Centre Marriott.
Threats to worker and especially lone worker safety might be a shouted ‘I know where you live’, or ‘I know where your children go to school’. Or what if you have gone to someone’s home, whether as a community nurse or a private investigator serving documents, and someone stops you from leaving? Or pokes you in the shoulder, so that you are pushed back? Or barges into you or spits at you? What’s your back up? As Vince, a former South Wales Police man, points out, we have no right to lay hands on anybody.
Vince advises some practical steps for the lone worker, such as – if you are visiting a client in a cul de sac, park so that your car is in a position to leave right away, rather than you have to reverse after the visit. If you do have to leave the client hurriedly or escape an altercation, having to reverse can give the attacker more time to reach your car. Vince advises: “The last thing we should be doing is parking directly outside the service user’s house – let’s park it around the corner.” If the car is parked outside the window, and for whatever reason the visit goes wrong, you run the risk of that service user recognising your car and hence you whenever you are at the supermarket, for example.
He also covers body language. Don’t give the impression from your body stance that you are intimidated. Rather than look lost, walk upright; and show an air of confidence. That way you are far less likely to be a target, he suggests. If you do come under attack, as for personal attack alarms, you or your staff might prefer hair lacquer or a pocket deoderant, as a last resort; something to spray and hopefully get clear of the attacker.
Likewise Vince speaks of being vigilant and ‘switched on’ to the body language of other people. You may be greeted by someone with crossed arms and pursed lips who makes tutting sounds; the person might become more animated, and turn sideways on, and crash fists on the table; invade your ‘space’; and raise fists. By that stage, you shouldn’t really be there. Be alive to what your body tells you – the adrenalin racing, the heart pounding and even sweating and shaking. Be aware that when this all kicks in, it becomes harder to do anything, even something as usually simple as putting your key in a door or car lock – which you may rely on to make a get-away.
How to deal with confrontation, before it gets to that late stage? For one thing, be aware that your own body language is not confrontational. Show positive body language; such as open palms, suggesting that you have nothing to hide. When in a confrontation, there are ways to manage it; acknowledge the other person, by using their name. Don’t interrupt or argue with the other person; let the other person get the rant off their chest. Or use a distraction technique, if someone starts to get irate. Get off the subject of contention, onto something that the speaker feels more comfortable with, such as a family photograph on the wall.
Vince also goes into defending yourself (or a colleague) from an attack, which can be justified – to prevent a crime, or prevent someone from harming themselves. Any use of force has to be proportionate, and at a minimum. There is as Vince describes a bureaucratic side to the aftermath of a confrontation; writing a report, once you have calmed down and are safe, to set out your perception of the events.
Visit www.conflictsolutions.co.uk.
