Human Behavior: Preventing and Diffusing Aggressive Behavior

Preventing and Diffusing Aggressive Behavior

• This section aims to provide recruits with basic skills to identify and manage aggressive behavior, using communication and behavioral tools to prevent or diffuse aggression.

Assertive Attitude

• Characteristics of an assertive attitude: win-win interaction, listening, and respect.
• Benefits of assertive attitude: establishes trust, honesty, and cooperation.

Active Listening Skills

• Empathetic skills: create an impression of concern, willingness to listen, and allow venting.
• Key elements: body language, paralanguage, proxemics, and kinesics.

Intervention Responses

• Appropriate responses to different behaviors:
  • Anxiety: supportive.
  • Verbal aggression: assertive.
  • Physical violence: defensive.

Diffusing Anxiety Behavior

• Supportive techniques:
  • Introduce yourself.
  • Ask to repeat.
  • Ask questions.
  • Use reflective techniques.
  • Clarify implied statements.
  • Isolate the problem.
  • Redirect anger to the past.
  • Use their name.
  • Use "we".
  • Get them to sit or walk.
  • Use pacing and voice control.

Diffusing Verbal Aggression

• Techniques:
  • Allow venting.
  • Active listening.
  • Set clear limits.
  • Enforce limits.
  • Use positive verbal commands.

Intervention Diversionary Techniques

• Techniques:
  • Practiced body movements.
  • Defensive tactics.
  • Effective body language.
  • Positive verbal commands.
  • Throwing or dropping objects.

The Approach

• Mental preparation: plan for potential violence.
• Physical preparation:
  • Take three deep breaths.
  • Approach at a safe distance (4-6 feet).
  • Approach at a 45-degree angle.
  • Keep hands at waist level.
  • Keep feet shoulder-width apart.

Space (Proxemics)

• Understanding personal and cultural needs of space.
• Four zones: intimate, personal, social, and public.
• Environmental and cultural differences affect personal space.
• Gender and age differences in personal space.

Eye Contact

• Importance of eye contact in non-verbal communication.
• Eye contact can indicate:
  • Concern.
  • Support.
  • Confidence.
  • Authority.
• Cultural differences in eye contact.
• Maintaining eye contact:
  • 45% of the time.
  • Reducing eye contact can help maintain a "helper" role.

Gestures and Posture

• Head:
  • Back: aggression.
  • Straight: assertiveness.
  • Bowed or nodding: support or submission.
• Face:
  • Tension.
  • Teeth clenched.
  • Skin color.
• Lips:
  • Quivering: anxiety.
  • Pushed forward: anger.
  • Tight or tense: assault imminent.
• Breathing:
  • Rate increases with aggression.
  • Heaving chest: sign of attack.
• Shoulders:
  • Back: aggression.
  • Straight: assertiveness.
  • Forward: submission.
• Arms:
  • Crossed and high: aggression.
  • Loosely crossed and low: non-aggression.
  • Above waist and out: non-aggressive.
  • Above waist and in: aggression.
  • Above waist and bladed: aggression.
  • Below waist and in: non-aggressive.
  • Below waist and out: possible aggression.
• Palms:
  • Wrings: anxiety.
  • Opening and closing: aggression.
  • On hips: assertion.
  • Folded in front of groin: non-aggressive.
  • In boxing stance: aggressive.
  • Closed fists: aggressive.
  • One hand open, one closed: look for weapon.
  • One or both behind back: watch for weapons.
• Elbows:
  • Close to body: tension.
  • Away from body: relaxed.
• Index fingers:
  • Pulling trigger: aggression.
  • Runs across throat: aggression.
• Legs or stance:
  • Weight equal on both feet: non-aggressive.
  • Bobbing up and down: aggression.
  • Rocking toes to heels: aggression.
  • Front knee bent, rear locked: aggression.
  • Shift body toward you: aggression.
  • Shift body away: looking for escape, weapon, or submission.

Verbal Communications

• Importance of verbal communication in de-escalation.

• Key elements:

  • Calm and reassuring voice.
  • Tone of voice.
  • Volume.
  • Rate of speech.

• Techniques:

  • Introduction.
  • Ask questions.
  • Repeat what they say.
  • Use active listening.
  • Redirect anger.
  • Use voice control.
  • Use positive commands.### Conflict Resolution

• When dealing with an aggressor, continue to verbalize commands to create an intense state of conflict between aggression and fear.

• Use active listening to open and maintain communication, including empathy, listening, paralanguage, and body language.

Active Listening

• Empathy: Put yourself in another's shoes and listen to their ideas or problems.
• Listen: Listening shows concern and allows for venting anger or frustration.
• Avoid labeling or prejudging people; their problems are real to them.
• Body language: Tilt your head to show interest, nod your head to show understanding, and keep your hands open.

Stages of Conflict

• There are three stages of conflict:
  • Anxiety: Fear, hate, disappointment, sorrow, jealousy, stress, guilt, paranoia, distrust of authority, or feeling cornered.
  • Losing control verbally: Verbal aggression, threats, and counter-threats.
  • Losing control physically: Physical action, such as fighting.

Recognizing Loss of Control

• People lose control to establish dominance in a social hierarchy or to establish territorial rights.
• External changes: Face color darkens, veins appear, lips are licked, little eye contact, shallow breathing, sighing, and eyebrows frown.
• Internal changes: Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and adrenaline release.

Management

• Reduce anxiety by active listening.
• Non-verbal: Be assertive, non-threatening, and maintain eye contact.
• Verbal: Allow venting, set limits, and give directions.
• Physical: Separate aggressors, substitute yourself, and move away.
• If losing control physically, create space, use loud positive commands, and divert attention.

Losing Control Physically

• External changes: Face color changes, distortion of the left side of the face, aggressors break their stare, and verbalization stops.
• Internal changes: Heart rate high, blood pressure high, tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, and large amounts of adrenaline flow.

Management of Physical Loss of Control

• Create space, use loud positive commands, and divert attention.
• Use defensive tools, such as OC Spray, PR-24, or an Expandable baton.
• Move quickly into an escort position and take control of the aggressor.

Signals of Submission

• Put hands up, palms out.
• State "I give up".
• Turning back with hands covering the head.
• Reduction in violent movement.
• Bowing head.
• Lowering eyes and looking down.
• Verbal tone and volume decrease.
• Total inactivity.