Public safety personnel have been searching for ages to find the perfect method on how to deal with erratic civilians. Unfortunately, a universal answer for resolving all of the various types of conflict first responders face doesn’t exist.
As Lt. Jim Glennon of Calibre Press explains in the webinar “De-escalation & Conflict Resolution for Public Safety Personnel” – which is now available inside TargetSolutions' Community Resources – there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all method for properly communicating during high-stress situations.
“When we get calls, people want to know what are the phrases we should use? What’s the canned program we should enlist? And there is no canned program,” said Glennon. “You can go to classes where they say ‘don’t use these words, but use those words.’ I’m wary of those.”
As Glennon points out, the constant overarching requirement of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other safety personnel is to engage people, though frequently this is easier said than done.
Tremendous stress during emergency situations can elicit a whirlwind of raw emotions. Other factors, such as substance abuse and mental health issues, reinforce the idea that communication in these scenarios is unpredictable.
“What I found was your own personality has to be involved with other human beings. You can’t just take on someone else’s system when trying to engage other human beings.”
Lt. Jim Glennon, Calibre Press
This engaging 63-minute training webinar, which is available inside Community Resources and can be delivered and tracked through the TargetSolutions platform, features video clips of real scenarios that highlight communication breakdowns. During the overview, Glennon interprets each example independently rather than approaching each event with a black and white list of do’s and don’ts.
“This webinar is valuable for those in law enforcement, EMS, the fire service, and more,” said Tim Riley, who previously served as a fire chief with Dunedin Fire Department (Fla.) and now works as a Product Specialist with TargetSolutions. “It’s important that we remember it’s not your emergency. Nobody ever called because they did something intelligent; so likewise, it’s important to never become part of the problem. This webinar discusses the challenges public safety personnel face in these types of scenarios."
“De-escalation & Conflict Resolution for Public Safety Personnel” was produced by Calibre Press and sponsored by TargetSolutions. For more information on this valuable recorded webinar now available inside Community Resources, please contact TargetSolutions at (800) 840-8048.
