AIM:

To develop knowledge and skills in communication and conflict

management.

Intended Learning Outcome: By the end of the session trainees will be

able to:

1. Describe a range of potential conflict situations within Close Protection

2. Describe how to assess the level of threat posed in a conflict situation

3. Recognise human responses to emotional and threatening situations

4. Identify the conditions and behaviours that trigger or inhibit an angry

response in people

5. Explain the basic elements of communication

6. Explain the importance of non-verbal communication when

dealing with emotionally charged situations

7. Explain the importance of adopting an appropriate initial response

8. Identify the most common situations where there is a risk of

escalation into violence

9. Demonstrate an understanding of the attitude/behaviour cycle and how

to prevent escalation

10. Explain a range of techniques to diffuse and eliminate conflict

situations

11. Explain an escalation in risk and how to manage anger and aggression

12. Explain the difference between assertion and aggression

13. Describe the effects of stress within Close Protection

14. Explain the use of appropriate physical techniques for dealing with

conflict

15. Choose the most appropriate responses to a situation involving

potential conflict.

National Occupational Standards:

PCP 6

PCP 10

Maintain the safety and security of Principals whilst on foot

Respond to potential conflict whilst providing Close Protection

Employment NTO

Unit 6 Ensure your actions contribute to a positive and safe working

environment

Unit 7

Unit 8

Protect yourself from the risk of violence at work

Respond to work-related incidents.

COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

SKILLS

INTRODUCTION

In line with other SIA qualifications for licensing, the SIA

requires all security operatives who interact with the general

public to be trained in communication and conflict

management skills. For the purposes of this qualification

Close Protection Operatives should have the same

knowledge and understanding of communication and conflict

management skills as other security operatives but will be

trained using practical scenarios relevant to Close Protection.

Licensed Close Protection Operatives will also be licensed to

work as security guards and door supervisors. When

deployed in other security roles the same Principals of

communication and conflict management will apply but the

context and environment may differ. Close Protection

Operatives should be made aware of the need to become

familiar with the likely conflict situations that may occur in

different security roles

Training in communication and conflict management skills

should be tailored to the context of Close Protection.

Awarding bodies should ensure that the training syllabus

includes relevant practical scenario situations in both the

training syllabus and the assessment processes.

Workplace violence

The health and safety executive defines workplace violence

as:

Any incident in which a person is:

“Abused Threatened or assaulted in circumstance

relating to their work”

Responsibility of employers and employees

The main legislation is section 2 of the health and safety at

work act which covers work related violence and other risks:

“It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure as far as

reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of

all his employees“.

In simple terms your employer must carry out an assessment

of risk that you may face whilst doing your job, this involves

gathering information and an understanding of types of

situations, incidents and scenarios that you are likely to face

and making an assessment of the risks involved in these

situations

Once the risk has been identified, your employer must

provide “risk reduction measures” which will eliminate the risk

identified; theses will include things like guidance about how

to deal with difficult situations, safe working practices and

training

Employees also have a duty of care towards themselves and

other who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.

Assessing Risk

Dynamic risk assessment is a way of continuously assessing a

situation as you are dealing with it to ensure that risk of violence

are quickly recognised, assessed and responded to as a Close

protection Officer

The Police Service in Northern Ireland (P.S.N.I) which maintains

a Close Protection Unit and is recognised as the leading training

providers of National Close Protection courses, have adopted

what is known as

“THE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT MODEL”

This is a system, when followed, enables you to carry out a

dynamic risk assessment and react accordingly:.

Conflict Management Model

Information

intelligence

received

Threat

Assessment

Law

and Powers

Tactical

Options

Actions

The above diagram is of the Management model. When you are working as any

type of security officer this model shows the way you should be thinking.

INFORMATION/INTELLIGENCE.

This should be your first point. Gather any information or

intelligence you can on the task, Principal and any other factor

impacting on your role. If you are operating on the ground gather

the information by watching and listening to what’s happening

around you

THREAT ASSESSMENT.

Carry out your threat assessment from the information gathered

LAWS AND POWERS.

Consider what powers you have under the law in relation to the

possibilities that may arise during the task

TACTICAL OPTIONS.

What tactics are open to you, i.e. do we have to face the threat or

can we avoid conflict by simply walking the Principal away?.

ACTIONS.

If necessary do we strike first (R V BECKFORD)? Do we use

a firearm if carried?

In Beckford v R (1988), the defendant police officer shot dead

a suspect, having been told that he was armed and

dangerous, because he feared for his own life. The

prosecution case was that the victim had been unarmed and

thus presented no threat to the defendant. The trial judge

directed the jury that the defendant's belief in the need to

shoot in self-defence had to be both honest and reasonable.

In rejecting this direction, the Privy Council approved the

approach in Williams.

Lord Griffiths commented that juries should be given the

following guidance:

"Whether the plea is self-defence or defence of another, if the

defendant may have been labouring under a mistake as to

facts, he must be judged according to his mistaken belief of

the facts: that is so whether the mistake was, on an objective

view, a reasonable mistake or not." The defendant therefore,

had a defence of self-defence because the killing was not

unlawful if, in the circumstances as he perceived them to be,

he had used reasonable force to defend himself.

The Conflict Management model can be used when planning

an operation or as a dynamic assessment on the ground. If

necessary you can move between the stages if

circumstances dictate, i.e.

▪ If you are at the stage of information and an attack comes

in or you decide you have to act now you simply move to the

Actions stage. If and when things settle down you simply

begin again at stage one again and continually move round

the model

▪The following monogram will help you to remember what

you should be thinking about whilst working through the

Conflict Management Model.

▪POP:

P = Person - Continually assess people to judge whether you

may be at risk, if you have meet the person before. What do

you know about them?

1. Do they have a history of anger or aggression?

2. Are they a known criminal?

3. How do they appear?

4. Are they suffering the effects of drink or drugs?

5. Are they bigger? Fitter, younger, or stronger than you?.

O = Object - Assess the situation with regard to the risk

presented by any objects

1. Moving vehicles

2. Knives and other edged weapons

3. Apparently innocent article – scissors – syringes,

screwdrivers, bottles, cans, glasses etc.

P = Places

1. Staircases and dances floors

2. Remote areas – away from observation of other safe

refuge

3. Routes to or from work

4. Exits that are blocked.

Cast your mind back to the second chapter. Remember this useful

guide to awareness / response levels is a colour-code system

developed by a Master Defensive Instructor many years ago and

still valid today

WHITE Oblivious to what is happening around you

YELLOW Relaxed awareness of what‘s happen around you

ORANGE Aware of potential danger. Able to quickly form a plan to respond

RED Putting your plan into action

Where are you on this colour-coded system right now???

Most people live their lives in Condition White. If you said

Condition Yellow you would be in the right place. Knowing what‘s

going on around you will help to make sure you don‘t have to go to

Condition Orange or, worse yet, Condition Red.

Levels of Threat

There are two types of threat:

High Risk or Unknown Risk

We are often safer when an obvious threat is presented as we prepare

ourselves to deal with the situation, for example when going on a walk:

1. Assessment should be conscious and continuous

2. Be alert, scanning the environment (but not paranoid)

3. By being aware we are better able to respond

4. Beware complacency – after an incident we are more alert to the

risks and take precautions

5. Over time awareness can reduce making us more vulnerable

through complacency.

Coastal path = perceived low risk = unprepared

Mountains = perceived high risk = prepared

Conclusion

SELF – AWARENESS

Responses to threat

1. People have two mindsets or ways of dealing with situations –

the emotional (the one that feels) and the rational (the one that

thinks)

2. When you are particularly upset or when you feel threatened the

emotional side quickly takes over, This means that you lose

much of your ability to rationalise and think clearly

Fight and Flight

1. If you are seriously threatened your body prepares you to either

stay or fight the threat or to take flight and run away from danger

2. With-in seconds of sensing danger you can run fast, hit harder,

see better, hear more, acutely, think faster and jump higher than

you could only seconds earlier, this is often referred to as “Fight

or Flight” response. This fight or flight reaction is natural

basic instinct.

Triggers and Inhibitors

Triggers are often small things that when combined with other

problems spark off aggression. So if a person is already

feeling frustrated by long waits poor service or personal

circumstances, there are many triggers that will spark of a

sharp reaction. You may never know what someone has been

through just before his or her encounter with you

Common triggers

People tend to be “triggered” into an angry reaction if they

feel:

1. Embarrassed

2. Loss of face

3. Insulted

4. Afraid

5. That people are laughing at them.

Inhibitors prevent aggression

Inhibitors are things that prevent people from completely

losing their temper. You know that not everybody gets violent

when they become angry. This is because you have

inhibitors based on:

1. Self Control – most people have built in control which

prevents them from turning to violent behaviour

2. Personal values – the way we have been brought up, the

values and beliefs that we have learned

3. Fear that the other person will fight back – most of us don’t

want to be hurt and realise a fight will risk this

4. Social or legal consequences – these include being

charged with an assault, losing one job or license.

Stimulus and response

Animals tend to respond automatically, fight or flight when

something happens. If you pull a dog’s tail is very likely that

it will bite you

The dog’s automatic reaction will be as follows:

ANIMAL – Reaction to stimulus

Humans are however different, people have a choice about how

they respond to a threatening situation. At first the emotional side

kicks in, your body prepares a fight or flight response as the

rational side catches up. You can then start to analyse the

situation and respond appropriately.

Stimulus Response

Stimulus CHOICE Response

HUMAN - Reaction to stimulus

The wrong choice can escalate the problem

1. Your choice is important because every choice has a consequence,

even when you have passed the fight or flight stage you still have a

choice between escalating or de-escalating the situation

2. When you are feeling angry emotional or tense you might easily do

something or say something that will makes things worse.A smart

comment or pointing or poking a finger could trigger escalation

3. You need to consciously choose to deal with the incident so that no

one loses face or gets more wound up or frustrated

1. Unhelpful

2. Smart remark

3. Aggressive

STIMULUS HOICE - RESPONSE

ESCALATES

1. Listening

2. Helpful

3. Concern.

DE –ESCALATES

PRO ACTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY

First contact – managing Client expectations

Sometimes organisations and staff can create or worsen the

environment within which a conflict develops and increase the risk

of violence by the way they deliver services or approach their work

There is a build up to the majority of violent incidents and often the

most significant action that can be taken to reduce violence is to

provide a high quality service

Providing information in good time may be all that is needed to

placate and claim agitated Clients

The first impression begins with your appearance facial expression

and the way you are standing.

Behaviour breed’s behaviour

It is extremely unlikely that you will have a positive attitude

towards everyone you meet in the course of your work, if you

are dealing with someone you feel negative towards; you are

likely to show those negative feelings in the way that you

behave towards the other person

You’re negative behaviour makes a situation worse

When the other person recognises this negative behaviour

from you, this will in turn affect their altitude towards you. A

negative altitude will come out in their behaviour towards you.

Their negative behaviour is then likely to make the negative

feelings you had in the first place even more negative.

This is shown in the

attitude and behaviour

cycle:

Your attitude

It is very difficult to change your attitude towards someone. It is however possible

to change the way you behave towards them; you can learn to behave so that your

negative feelings do not show, so that your behaviour doesn’t reflect your negative

feelings. This breaks the cycle and stops it getting worse.

Affects Affects

My behaviour

Affects Affects

My Attitude

Your behaviour

DEFUSING CONFLICT

Blocks to communication

A number of things can get in the way of good communication –

these are termed: “blocks”. A block is anything that can cause the

communication between two people to break down or become

difficult

The Environment

The environment in which you are communicating

can contain things that will have an effect upon the

success of the communication, they are usually

obvious, although you don’t always recognise the

effect they are having – and include:

1. Loud noise

2. Lots of people crowded together

3. Physical discomfort – feeling very hot or cold, being hungry or

Tired.

Emotions and feelings

When we are angry, frustrated or unhappy the emotions

generated will have a direct impact upon your ability to

communicate successfully, you find it difficult to hear and

correctly interpret words and tend to rely much more on the

tone and body language to understand.

Alcohol and drugs

Alcohol has a depressant effect, which result is slower

reactions to normal stimulus; it tends to reduce people’s

inhabitations and can make them unreasonable and

unpredictable

When you are communication with a person under the

influence of alcohol

1. Talk slowly and calmly

2. Adopt a non- aggressive stance

3. Maintain space between them and you.

There are many different drugs available and each can have

a different effect on the person who has taken them. The

effects can range from those similar to alcohol, across to high

stimulant effects and even hallucinations. The greatest

communication difficulty in the unpredictability that can arise

in people who have taken drugs and the fact that their world

may be very distorted

The same points should be born in mind as with alcohol but

with greater emphasis on the need to demonstrate a non-

aggressive stance and maintain space between you and the

other person. Remember, drugs and alcohol are often mixed

and the effects can be difficult to predict.

Different cultures communicate differently

Different cultures hold different values and attitudes to define

the way they live and interact with others

There are no Rights or Wrongs where culture is concerned –

one culture isn’t better than another – just different. Some of

this difference may be a thing such as body language; hand

signals in one culture can mean something different in

another, or the difference in space between people when

communicating, there are difference in values which are

difficult to accept

If you want to communicate well with someone who is clearly

from a different culture or ethnic background to yourself then

it is important to respect the values of that culture and try and

communicate in a way that embraces those values as much

as possible.

Mental health problems

A person may behave in a different way because or mental

health problems. Mental illness can take many forms:

The person may be aggressive for any of the following

reasons:

Fear – (e.g. noise or people) leading to desperation and the

feeling that “the only way out is to fight”

Paranoia – (feelings of being persecuted) may be directed

towards certain groups in society. For example police or

doctors that could have been caused by a bad experience

with them in the past

Anger – at being provoked by other people.

When dealing with people who have a mental illness:

1. Give them or her plenty of space

2. Talk clearly and calmly to ensure he or she understands

you

3. Make sure he or she knows you mean no harm

4. Be reassuring tell him or her what you are doing and why

5. Keep your hands open and in view

6. Reduce distraction that will alarm and confuse

7. If you are with a colleague only one of you should talk to

the person.

Channels of communication

In conversation the message is passed from one person to the

other through three channels:

1. Words

2. Tone

3. Non – Verbal

the actual words spoken

the way the words are spoken

the stance, gestures and Expression

The receiver gains the meaning of a message as follows:

Method % of meaning

Words 7

Tone 38

Non - Verbal 55

Match body language and tone to words

Remember:

1. Your Body language and tone of voice will make a big impact

2. It’s not so much what you say – it’s how you say it

3. If you try to understand the persons point it will help

communication between you

Signalling non – aggression

This is one of the most important areas to understand when

defusing a situation where people are becoming aggressive. The

more emotional someone is becoming the less they can hear and

rationalise what is being said to them

However they WILL instinctively respond to body language and

tone of voice.

None – verbal communication – Open PALMS

Open PALMS is a model to signal non – aggression. It helps you

to show another person that you do not want to fight him or her

Open PALMS – I don’t want to fight you

P

A

L

M

S

Position – allow exit routes, don’t block in

Attitude – display positive and helpful attitude

Look and listen – normal eye contact, active listening

Make space – maintain a comfortable distance

Stance – shoulders relaxed and turned away to the side

HIGH – RISK CONFLICT

Recognising escalation

A high – risk conflict is one where there is an immediate risk that the

person dealing with the situation is going to be physically assaulted.

You need to recognise when a situation is escalating and respond

appropriately

Signs of escalation to watch for are:

1. Angry non – verbal signals – face reddening, intense eye

contact.

2. Abuse which is focused on you personally

3. Increasingly vulgar, abusive or threatening language

4. Your personal space is being evaded

5. Square on posture, head and chin thrust forward

6. Fist clenching, finger pointing – leading to physical contact.

The FOUR “A’S Model

When you are dealing with high–risk conflict situations it will

help you to remember the FOUR A’s

1. Don’t get

2. ManageAngry

3. Maintain a positive Attitude

4. Be Assertive – not aggressive.

Abuse

Defusing and calming

In high – risk conflict – the other person is in a very agitated

and emotional state and the signals are telling you that you

are in immediate danger of being physically assaulted. If it is

appropriate – you should remove yourself from danger

This is often easier said than done – particularly when it is

obvious you are in a position of authority and other Clients

are around who may be left to deal with the situation.

Sometimes you are not in a position where you can leave

easily and safely. Where this is the case you need to be able

to defuse the situation and calm the person down so that he

or she becomes less of a risk.

Defusing and calming

There are four main basic steps that help top calm a person

who is in a high level of agitation and emotion:

1. Signal non – aggression

2. Catch his or her attention

3. Actively listen and empathise

4. Win his or her trust.

Signal non – aggression

When someone is in a high state of emotion and anger, there is

little point in trying to appeal to their rational side. The most

important thing to signal is non–aggression – remember open

PALMS

Catch his or her attention

If someone has really lost it then it may be necessary to match his

or her level of energy in order to gain his or her attention.

“Matching” energy level is a delicate balance and needs to be

carefully monitored – you need put yourself in a position where you

can give direct eye contact with the other person and raise your

energy and voice to an appropriate level

Use words like “whoa, just a sec” or “excuse me can I help” as

soon as you have clearly got his or her attention – the level needs

to drop back to normal and you should maintain the open PALM

stance.

Show empathy and activity listen.

It is quite difficult to stay really angry for a long time and people

who are angry respond quickly too anything that sounds like an

apology. If you demonstrate empathy with their situation it will help

to defuse their anger

This isn’t the same as agreeing with his or her complaint or point of

view – but it acknowledges their right to hold it. You can

demonstrate empathy by using phrases like:

1. “I’m Sorry this has happened to you”

2. “I’m sorry you’ve had to queue for so long”

3. “I can see this has made you very angry”

4. “I can understand why this has made you angry”.

Win his or her trust

Winning trust is getting the person to the point where he or

she is calm enough to be able to deal with the situation in a

rational manner. He or she has to have confidence that you

are on their side, want to resolve the problem and have some

power to be able to resolve the situation

Confronting unacceptable behaviour

It is important to realise that to confront a person who is

already very angry and emotional it is likely to escalate the

situation and increase the risk – no matter how skilled you

are in doing it, it is sometimes a difficult choice and it can be

hard not to react to some types of abuse – particularly if it is

very personal or perhaps racially motivated.

Remember that you can confront someone about

unacceptable behaviour when it is safer to do so such as

when they are calmer or you are in a safe area. If you feel

you have to confront then make sure you are assertive –

rather that aggressive. A good assertive statement will

usually:

1. State clearly what the unacceptable behaviour is that

you want it to stop

2. What the consequences of continuing will be and.

3. An acknowledgement of the other persons point of

View.

An example of a good assertive statement is:

“I appreciate you are angry but if you continue to shout

and swear you will leave me no option but to ask you to

leave – which I don’t want to have to do”

It is important to make sure your body language gives a similar

message – you can make a good assertive statement but

makes it aggressive by squaring on or pointing open PALMS.

Exits Strategies

When you are in a situation that you recognise as high risk, it may

be necessary for you to exit from the situation. This is to take

yourself from immediate danger and allow you to think rationally

about how to deal with the incident. People often find it difficult to

get out of such situation without losing face and therefore stay

longer than it is safe to do so. An exit strategy is a pre-prepared

way of getting yourself away from a difficult situation

Have a ready-made reason to exit; an exit strategy is quite simply

a sensible reason for leaving the situation you are in. you need to

have a reason ready so it comes to mind quickly. It needs to be

something that will not make the situation worse

It will be something like: “I’m afraid I can’t make that

decision – I’ll have to go and speak with the manager about

it”.

THE LAW REGARDING SELF – DEFENCE

The law regarding to self-defence is reasonably clear and

unambiguous, however people often confuse retaliation with

self – defence. The law does not allow us to retaliate – only

defend others or ourselves from attack.

THE LAW REGARDING SELF – DEFENCE

Use of force – any use of force on another person is an

assault.

Authority for the use of force comes from both common law and

statute law. Often it is against the law to force on another

person sometimes however when justified, an assault can be

lawful. It is recognising such circumstances that are important,

criteria most relevant to violence at work are:

1. Defending oneself or others against unlawful violence.

2. Saving life

3. Preventing crime, making a lawful arrest and protecting

property.

Common Law Authority

Any person may use such force as is reasonable in the

circumstances in defence of themselves or others and in certain

circumstances in defence of property. The force used must be

reasonable and no more than is necessary to repel attack. You must

be able to show honesty held belief that immediate unlawful personal

violence was occurring or about to occur and your action were

necessary to prevent such conduct

In some cases it may be necessary and lawful to act or strike first to

defend yourself or another person. You must be able to show

compelling justification for such action. The law states that some

attempt should be made to retreat where practicable. Reasonable

force can be used to save life

Human Rights Act

“Use of force must be reasonable and proportionate; which

means you must NOT over react.”.

RESOLVING CONFLICT

Problem solving: - Recognise the Client’s point of view

Empathy is basically about being able to see another person’s point of

view – even if you don’t agree with it. It is best understood as a piece

of cheese. Person A sees a square; whereas person B sees a

triangle – both very different but the same thing – a wedge of cheese.

A

B

If you have empathy, it means you recognise that the other person has a

different view of the world but to them it is equally as valid as your own

view the critical element is to understand that all involved believe that

they are right. The key to unlocking this problem is for one person to

seek to listen and understand the others point of view. Listening and

positively seeking to understand provides the following benefits:

1. As you are not resisting or arguing the conflict can diminish

2. Listening to the other person shows that you are interested and

care

3. You may discover that the facts or perceived facts are different

to your initial thoughts

Resolving the issues

It is important to try and remove the cause of the problem that has led to

the conflict, this can only be achieved when the heat is out of the

situation and everyone is thinking rationally remember the Client will

have a different point of view to you – otherwise the conflict would have

not started in the first place.

Building rapport

If you are to go further and resolve the situation you first need

to build a rapport a sense of trust with the other individual(s)

you can achieve this through the same techniques you have

already applied to defusing the emotions:

1. Active listening (nods of the head, say yes, yes or I see)

2. Active looking (maintain normal eye contact and don’t

be distracted)

3. Paraphrase (use expressions like “let me check I’ve

understood..” then summarise what they have said)

4. Be friendly (even if you don’t feel like it) disarm them by

living up to their low expectations of you.

Seeking a WIN – WIN outcome

To successful resolve a situation you need to think WIN – WIN;

A win-win situation is where both sides of a confrontation come out

of the encounter situation feeling satisfied with the outcome. It is

not always possible to meet everyone’s ideal result, but if party

reached people are more likely to be satisfied with their treatment.

A simple explanation may be enough

YOUR win situation

1. Minimal aggravation and stress

2. Doing a professional job

3. Finding a successful solution

4. Leaving others satisfied that you have done your best.

Seeking a WIN – WIN outcome

A CLIENT win situation

1. Saving face

2. Getting what they asked for

3. Being listened to and taken seriously

4. Being treated fairly and professionally

5. Receiving a helpful explanation.

Delivering a gift

This strategy can be used to bring a discussion that is going

nowhere to an end. It allows the Client to leave and you to

return to work, while hopefully leaving them with the

impression that you have worked hard to try and resolve their

problem

Examples include:

1. Providing a phone

2. Free coffee and refreshment while they wait

3. An invitation to retune on a different occasion when they

could be made extra welcome

4. Calling a taxi or giving them a card for a reliable taxi firm

5. An invitation to come back to you personally if there is a

future difficulty.

LEARNING FROM CONFLICT

Post-incident considerations

Support for victims:

Perhaps the most important thing to recognise that everyone has a

different way of responding to and dealing with the aftermath of a

violent or aggressive incident there is no right or wrong way to react

and people must be able to deal with it in their own way. Colleagues

can help by “looking out” for someone who has been the subject of

an attack or assault it is important to watch out for changes in

behaviour from what you would expect from this person

In the short term it is quite normal for a person to have a range of

reactions from the shock confusion and disbelief through to anger

embarrassment or a feeling of violation you can provide help and

support just by listening and reinforcing that it is quite normal to have

these reactions to an incident involving violence.

Reporting and recording

Accounting for your actions:

You may be asked to account for your actions or inaction by the

manager and may well be called before a civil or criminal court

months after the event. It is therefore very important to write a

clear detailed incident report immediately after the incident.

When writing the report remember the ordinary person was not

present at the time of the incident but who may be sitting on a

jury in the court, ensure you provide enough detail for a third

party to conclude that your actions were reasonable in the

circumstances

Help others to see the incident as it was and to understand how

it felt to be there. Give a true and accurate and full picture of

what happened that would help others understand why you

took the actions that you did.

Reporting and recording

When compiling your incident report remember to include:

1. Facts about yourself

2. Background information

3. Description of behaviour

4. Level of forced used

Simply stating that a person became “abusive” or “violent” is

not satisfactory – state exactly what the person said and what

they did.

Reporting

Reporting all incidents is essential in order for an organisation

to protect staff against risk. The organisation relies upon quality

information to establish effective strategies and training.

Reporting incidents of workplace violence is a duty under

health and safety legislation

Learning from what happened

As a professional you should continuously be recognising the

things that you do well in situations of conflict and looking for

things that you might be able to do better in a similar incident.

You should review how you approach the incident using this

simple process:.

1. What happened

2. Why did it happen to react that way

3. How can I improve things if this happens again

In some organisations the line manager will debrief the incident.

In a serious incident there will be an investigation aimed at

finding out what happened and what could be learned from it. It

is good practise to get into the habit of going through this

process for yourself – if nothing else; it helps you not to make

the same mistake twice.

SUMMARY

All of the CPO’s day is taken up with conflict avoidance.

Conflict management is largely for those occupations such as

door staff and security officers whose working day is filled with

conflict arising from members of the public

The well-trained and experienced CPO will avoid, confront and

manage conflict using all the skills at his disposal. That being

said; being aware of all of the components we have covered in

this chapter helps to arm the CPO with the knowledge of ‘what

makes other people tick’ and how to diffuse and deal with

situations and people that could present a threat to your

Principal should you not manage the situation correctly.