What if you could identify potentially dangerous situations before they escalate to verbal or physical violence?
Active shooter events are becoming more common and workplace violence is on the rise. What can you do to prepare yourself?
You can practice situational awareness. Situational awareness is the ability to pay attention to your environment and recognize anomalies while you conduct normal activities. In some cases, situational awareness can help with active shooter prevention.
This may sound complicated, but it’s actually something you’ve likely seen before. When the airline flight attendants go over the safety card before take-off, that’s situational awareness. When the moderator at a conference points out the exits, that’s establishing situational awareness. The lighted exit signs at a movie theater are designed to help raise situational awareness.
How can you practice situational awareness?
- Create a baseline awareness of your environment. This doesn’t just have to be your workplace; it can be any environment, like restaurants, movie theatres, and more.
- Note the behavior of the people around you. Note their gestures, speaking volume, behavior, and the distance between people. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not creating a baseline. If you don’t have a baseline, you won’t see anomalies.
- Have a plan of action. Imagine any type of danger: fire, active shooter, etc. What would you do? How would you escape? Create a plan and always be mindful of your exits. If you think about your plan enough, it will be second nature if and when it comes time to use it.
- Find a vantage point in the room where you can see the activity around you. A position against a wall can help you scan for anomalies without worrying what’s behind you.
- Trust your instincts. If something seems off, determine where the anomaly is coming from and remember your action plan.
- Keep your focus. Phones and headphones can distract you and you could miss anomalies.
What behaviors should you be watching for?
People behaving differently also indicates an anomaly. It’s rare that people just “snap” and commit serious violence. In most cases people are on a pathway to violence. Employees should be able to identify behavioral indicators, or warning signs, indicating a co-worker or customer is on this path, and they can get the troubled person emotional support or, depending on the severity, notify law enforcement. Behaviors on the “pathway to violence” can include:
- Extreme emotions
- Making threats either in person or on social media
- Changes in behavior, such as an extrovert suddenly becoming reserved
- Increased use of alcohol and drugs
- Holding grudges against specific people or groups of people
Situational Awareness Aids in Active Assailant Prevention
Situational awareness reduces risk because it allows you to see anomalies before they escalate. This will give you time to respond, de-escalate, or escape. In some cases, situational awareness can help with active assailant prevention. If you notice a change in behavior of the people in your workplace, you can report that behavior and prevent future violence.
Learn more about situational awareness, verbal de-escalation techniques and the Run, Hide, Fight methodology with TPOP’s active shooter preparedness training. In less than an hour, your workforce can feel confident and prepared to take on workplace violence.
Let’s talk about your specific training needs today.
Je, unaweza kutambua hali zinazoweza kuwa hatari kabla ya kuwa zenye jeuri? Matukio ya wapiga risasi wanaofanya kazi yanazidi kuwa ya kawaida na jeuri kazini inaongezeka. Unaweza kufanya nini ili kujitayarisha? Unaweza kufanya mazoezi ya ufahamu wa hali. Ujuzi wa hali ni uwezo wa kuzingatia mazingira yako na kutambua anomalies wakati wa kufanya shughuli za kawaida. Katika visa fulani, ufahamu wa hali ya hewa waweza kusaidia katika kuzuia wapiga-risasi. Hii inaweza kuonekana ngumu, lakini ni kweli kitu wewe uwezekano wa kuona kabla. Wakati wafanyakazi wa ndege kwenda juu ya kadi ya usalama kabla ya kuondoka, kwamba ni ufahamu wa hali. Wakati msimamizi katika mkutano anaonyesha njia za kutoka, hiyo ni kuanzisha ufahamu wa hali. Ishara za kutoka kwenye sinema zilizoangazwa zimekusudiwa kusaidia kuongeza ufahamu wa hali. Unawezaje kuzoea ufahamu wa hali? - Kuunda ufahamu wa msingi wa mazingira yako. Hii si tu kuwa mahali pa kazi yako; inaweza kuwa mazingira yoyote, kama vile migahawa, sinema, na zaidi. - Angalia tabia ya watu wanaokuzunguka. Angalia ishara zao, sauti yao, tabia zao, na umbali kati ya watu. Moja ya makosa makubwa unaweza kufanya ni kutokuwa na msingi. Kama huna msingi, huwezi kuona anomalies. - Kuwa na mpango wa vitendo. Fikiria aina yoyote ya hatari: moto, mshambuliaji hai, nk. Wewe ungefanya nini? Ungekimbiaje? Fanya mpango na sikuzote uwe mwangalifu kuhusu njia za kutoka. Ikiwa unafikiria juu ya mpango wako vya kutosha, itakuwa asili ya pili ikiwa na wakati utakapokuja kuitumia. - Tafuta mahali pazuri katika chumba ambapo unaweza kuona shughuli zinazokuzunguka. Msimamo dhidi ya ukuta unaweza kukusaidia kuchunguza kwa ajili ya anomalies bila kuwa na wasiwasi nini ni nyuma yako. - Amini hisia zako za ndani. Ikiwa jambo fulani linaonekana kuwa lisilo la kawaida, tafuta chanzo cha kasoro hiyo na ukumbuke mpango wako wa kutenda. - Weka fikira zako. Simu na vichwa vya sauti vinaweza kukukengeusha fikira na unaweza kukosa kuona mambo yasiyo ya kawaida. Ni tabia gani unayopaswa kuwa makini nayo? Watu wanaotenda kwa njia tofauti pia huonyesha kasoro. Ni nadra kwamba watu tu "snap" na kutekeleza vurugu kali. Katika visa vingi watu wako kwenye njia ya jeuri. Wafanyakazi wanapaswa kuwa na uwezo wa kutambua dalili za tabia, au ishara za onyo, zinazoonyesha mfanyakazi mwenzako au mteja yuko kwenye njia hii, na wanaweza kupata msaada wa kihisia wa mtu aliye na shida au, kulingana na uzito, kuarifu utekelezaji wa sheria. "Mtazamo wa ""njia ya vurugu"" unaweza kujumuisha: hisia kali, kutisha kibinafsi au kwenye media ya kijamii, mabadiliko ya tabia, kama vile mtu aliye nje ya mtu, kuwa na wasiwasi, kuongezeka kwa matumizi ya pombe na dawa za kulevya, kushikilia chuki dhidi ya watu maalum au vikundi vya watu, ufahamu wa hali, husaidia katika kuzuia mshambuliaji, ufahamu wa hali hupunguza hatari kwa sababu hukuruhusu kuona kasoro kabla ya kuongezeka." Hilo litakupa wakati wa kujibu, kupunguza mkazo, au kutoroka. Katika visa fulani, ufahamu wa hali ya hewa waweza kusaidia katika kuzuia mshambuliaji. Ikiwa unaona mabadiliko katika tabia ya watu katika mahali pako pa kazi, unaweza kuripoti tabia hiyo na kuzuia vurugu za baadaye. Kujifunza zaidi kuhusu hali ya ufahamu, maneno de-escalation mbinu na kukimbia, kujificha, mapigano mbinu na TPOP ya kazi shooter utayari mafunzo. Katika muda wa saa moja, wafanyakazi wako wanaweza kujisikia uhakika na tayari kuchukua juu ya vurugu kazini. Hebu majadiliano kuhusu mahitaji yako maalum ya mafunzo leo.