In private security, conflicts with people who are under the influence of alcohol and possibly drugs, who show a lack of understanding for certain measures or who simply are in a stressful situation for whatever reason, are not always avoidable.
Therefore, de-escalating communication skills and a sensitive handling of violence are among the indispensable qualifications of our employees.
A non-violent solution is the strongest resistance
Even though our team is trained in close combat methods and, for example, bodyguards carry weapons in exceptional cases, physical de-escalation is always the last resort. Therefore the training of our team includes rhetorical skills and violence protection training as well, in order to be able to react correctly when dealing with aggressive people or persons in exceptional situations and to minimize the risk of injury.
The task begins with the early identification of situations with a potential for violence or an uncontrollable outcome. Usually such conflicts begin with heated exchanges of words, insults and provocative, ambiguous gestures. Particularly in the protection of the group, such dynamics in stressful situations often lead to a disinhibition and change in behavior among the participants. Communication skills are required to calm down heated minds in such situations. The security personnel always represents the company on duty and must therefore act accordingly to avoid violence and de-escalate. Even if it’s hard to do, security staff must not take insults personally.
Violence on the job – this is how security staff behave appropriately:
Even if the answer seems obvious, our colleagues ask the person concerned about their motives and do not simply speculate. When insults are used, it is important to keep your composure and not to return it. Blaming or narrow-minded behavior does not help the employee, but openness to the interests of the other person does. Self-control plays an important role here, which is also evident in not interrupting the other person, as long as one’s own self-esteem allows it.
The security personnel remains objective and polite, communicates understandably and comprehensibly and respects other positions. However, no one may be denied their own position. Even if it requires patience, the employees always remain solution-oriented during the conflict and show the other party that they are not looking for a guilty party but for a solution.
However, if all verbal mediation attempts fail and an escalation seems inevitable, §127 StPO (German Code of Criminal Procedure) with the Everyman’s Arrest Law regulates that security employees may provisionally arrest people in case of self-defense or in case of risk of absconding after a criminal act.
Cooperation with the association “Toleranz durch Bildung”
In our violence protection training courses, we pass on our experience and know-how to people who are confronted with violence in their daily work. These include employees in nursing professions, bus drivers or social workers. With the aim of preventing violence, the participants learn non-violent approaches to solving problems in our de-escalation courses, which we design together with the experts from the association “Tolerance through Education”. In addition to the right communication strategies, a confident appearance is crucial and important in order to be able to react correctly in an emergency.
In this sense: Stay calm!
Your #TeamRAD
