Preventing Aggressive Behavior

Preventing and Diffusing Aggressive Behavior

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

Characteristics of Assertive Attitude

• An assertive attitude is characterized by a win-win interaction, where the officer and the subject both benefit.
• Benefits of an assertive attitude include:
  • Establishing an atmosphere of honesty, respect, and trust.
  • Long-range benefits of increased cooperation in the future.

Active Listening Skills

• Empathetic skills are essential for active listening, creating an impression of concern and willingness to listen to the subject.
• Key skills to demonstrate:
  • Body language (e.g., open palms, uncrossed arms).
  • Paralanguage (e.g., tone of voice, rate of speech).
  • Proxemics (e.g., maintaining a safe distance).

Intervention Responses

• Identify and respond to different behaviors:
  • Anxiety: supportive response.
  • Verbal aggression: assertive response.
  • Physical violence: defensive response.

Intervention Techniques for Diffusing Anxiety

• Supportive techniques:
  • Introduce yourself.
  • Ask to repeat.
  • Ask questions.
  • Use reflective techniques.
  • Clarify implied statements.
  • Isolate the problem.
  • Redirect anger to the past.
  • Use "we" and "pacing" and voice control.
• Avoid high-risk techniques and consider substituting contact if necessary.

Intervention Techniques for Diffusing Verbal Aggression

• Techniques:
  • Allowing the subject to vent.
  • Active listening.
  • Setting reasonable, clear, and enforceable limits.
  • Enforcing those limits.

Intervention Techniques for Counter Physical Assault

• Techniques:
  • Practiced body movements (e.g., defensive tactics, effective body language).
  • Positive verbal commands.
  • Using the environment to your advantage.

The Approach

• Have a mental plan for potential violence.
• Take deep breaths to relax.
• Approach the subject at a safe distance (4-6 feet).
• Blade your body at a 45-degree angle.
• Keep your hands at waist level, palms up, and open.

Proxemics

• Proxemics is the study of personal and cultural needs of people and the interaction of space and communication.
• Four oval-shaped zones surround each person:
  • Intimate zone (0-18 inches).
  • Personal zone (18 inches-3 feet).
  • Social zone (3-10 feet).
  • Public zone (10 feet or more).

Eye Contact

• Importance of eye contact:
  • Indicates concern, support, confidence, and authority.
  • Receives important messages from others.
• Cultural and individual differences in eye contact:
  • Black individuals: 30% of the time.
  • Hispanic individuals: 25% of the time.
  • Asian individuals: 18% of the time.

Non-Verbal Communication

• Gestures and posture:
  • Head movements: aggression, assertiveness, or submission.
  • Face: tension, anger, or fear.
  • Lips: quivering or pushed forward.
  • Breathing: rate and depth.
  • Shoulders: back, straight, or forward.
  • Arms: crossed, high, or low.
  • Palms: open, closed, or wringing.
  • Elbows: close to the body or away.
  • Index fingers: pulling trigger or running across the throat.
  • Legs or stance: weight distribution, bobbing, or rocking.

Verbal Communication

• Communication skills:
  • Introduction.
  • Excuse me, Sir/Ma'am.
  • Ask questions: what, when, where, why, and how.
  • Repeat what they have said.
  • Use "we" and "I wonder" phrases.
  • Use voice control: volume, tone, and rate of speech.
  • Avoid high-risk verbal techniques.
  • Use positive commands: STOP, NO, and DROP THE BAT.

Positive Commands

• Delaying the subject's planning by unbalancing their mind.
• Example: yelling "Open your fists" during a ritualized combat situation.

Imminent Assault

• Redirecting the subject's thoughts with loud and positive voice commands.
• Example: yelling "STOP" when a subject is holding a baseball bat and ready to strike.

Lack of Oxygen

• Importance of oxygen intake during high-anxiety situations.

• Using loud and positive commands to force oxygen intake and delay weakness.### 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.