Violence in the work place

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Violence in the work place
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Use of Force
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Use of Force

• Is it reasonable to assume that Staff will have
  to use force against some individuals during
  their career?

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Why would we need to use force?
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Where do we get the authority to use force?

• Prison Rule 47, YOI Rule 50.Detention Centre Rule
  41
• PSO 1600
• Law
• European convention on Human Rights.

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Prison Rule 47 Y.O.I. Rule 50

• An Staff when dealing with a Perpetrator shall
  not use force unnecessarily and, when the use of
  force is necessary, no more force than is
  necessary shall be used.

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Criminal Law act 1967(Section Three (1))

• Any person may use such force as is reasonable
  in the circumstances in the prevention of a
  crime, or in the effecting or assisting in the
  lawful arrest of offenders unlawfully at large.

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Common Law

• The common law has always recognised a persons
  right to defend themselves or others. If they
  have to inflict violence on another in doing so
  such action is not unlawful as long as their
  actions are reasonable in the circumstances as he
  sees them.
• Lord Griffiths (Beckford v Queen 1998)

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The definition of violence

• Any incident in which a person is, abused,
  threatened, or assaulted.
• This includes an explicit or implicit challenge
• to their safety, well-being or health. The
• resulting harm may be physical, emotional or
• psychological.
• Violence Reduction PSO 2750

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Human Rights Act 1998

• Article two the right to life.
• Article three prohibition from torture,
  inhumane or degrading treatment.

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Accountability

• Staff are accountable for their own actions.They
  must demonstrate that their actions comply with
  the following general principles.

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General Principles.Force can be justified if it
is

• Reasonable in the circumstances.
• Necessary.
• No more force than is necessary.
• Proportionate to the seriousness of the
  circumstances.

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Reasonable in the Circumstances

• A matter of fact decided in each individual case.
• Each set of circumstances are unique.
• Unique factors should be taken into consideration
  when deciding what is reasonable.

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Necessary

• The action taken must have been necessary.
• The type of harm that is being prevented must be
  taken into account.
• Self defence or enforcing lawful orders.
• Consequences of non compliance must be considered.

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No more force than is necessary.

• Using more force than is required to achieve
  compliance is unlawful.

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Proportionate In The Circumstances

• A reasonable relationship between the means
  employed and the aim pursued must be
  demonstrated.

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• Staff must be aware that when required to deal
  with a conflict as part of their job there is an
  expectation (general public and courts) that they
  are better equipped / trained to deal with the
  confrontation without resorting to the use of
  force.
• The use of force is always a last resort.

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Handling Confrontational Situations
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Roll Check Incident
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How Judgement is affected by Stress

• How do you think the Staff are feeling?
• What are the physical symptoms of these
  feelings?
• What is happening to our bodies when this
  happens?

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What does Adrenalin do for us?

• POSITIVE EFFECTS
• Heightened awareness.
• Additional energy/ strength.
• Higher tolerance to pain.
• The ability to perform physically for longer.

• NEGATIVE EFFECTS
• Loss of fine motor skills.
• Tunnel vision.
• Auditory exclusion.
• Feelings that everything is happening slowly.

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Resolution Strategies
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In any conflict situation we will adopt one or
more of the following strategies.

• Avoid.
• (withdraw or stay away form the danger)
• Defuse.
• (use communication skills to solve the conflict)
• Control.
• (control the situation using assertiveness,
  presence or reasonable force)

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What factors can help us communicate more easily?

• What can inhibit good communication?

• How do we communicate non-verbally?

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What is Aggression?

• Aggression can be defined as any behaviour that
  is perceived by the victim as being deliberately
  harmful and damaging either psychologically or
  physically.
• What causes aggression?
• How do we recognise aggression?

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Defusion Strategy

• How can we defuse an aggressive situation?
• Appear confident, give the impression you are
  capable of dealing with the situation
• Appear calm
• Create space
• Speak slowly / softly
• Dont stare, keep averting your gaze
• Ask questions
• Dont argue
• Listen and demonstrate that you are listening

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What will dictate which strategy we will choose ?

• The type of behaviour demonstrated by the
  Perpetrator will be the major factor that
  influences our decision as to how to deal with a
  potential/actual problem.

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Passive Resistance

• Perpetrator offers no resistance but refuses to
  comply with reasonable requests or direct orders.

• Observe behaviour
• Ask for compliance.
• Explain why compliance is required.
• Explain the consequences of non compliance.
• Ask if there is anything we can reasonably say or
  do to make them comply.
• Use planned CR

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Active Resistance

• Staff does not feel in immediate danger but
  Perpetrator threatens violence if approached.

• Observe behaviour.
• Use defusion / de-escalation strategy.
• Use planned CR.

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Violent Behaviour

• Perpetrator is causing concern i.e. their
  behaviour is deemed as threatening either
  verbally or nonverbally. This could escalate to
  actual violence towards a person or property.

• Use defusion strategy or withdraw (avoid.)
• If no other practical option use reasonable force
  to prevent assault.
• If practical use Control Restraint techniques.

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Threat to Limb.

• Weapons may be present. A Perpetrators behaviour
  is likely to cause injury to others if no action
  taken.

• Withdraw or use defusion strategy.
• Use reasonable force to protect. (may include
  baton)
• Use Control and Restraint

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Threat to Life.

• Weapons may be involved. It is reasonable to fear
  that the Perpetrators behaviour may result in
  loss of life.

• Withdraw
• Use defusion strategy.
• Use planned CR if practical.
• Use reasonable force to protect. (may include
  baton.