GUIDELINES TO ENSURE RESEARCH TEAM SAFETY
DURING FIELDWORK
(last updated November 2005)
These guidelines have been prepared by the Research Team at TSA. They outline
TSA’s policies and procedures for ensuring the safety of researchers who are
undertaking fieldwork. They also apply to other staff who work away from TSA. The
guidelines are included in the staff handbook.
It is essential that TSA staff undertaking fieldwork outside of the office do so in safety.
The guidelines below are intended to ensure that this happens, and must be followed
by all staff who are involved in undertaking fieldwork, whether during or outside of
office hours.
PRINCIPLES FOR ENSURING SAFETY DURING FIELDWORK:
All staff members should give serious consideration to the safety of the situations
they and their colleagues are involved in during fieldwork. All staff have the right to
refuse to undertake a certain piece of fieldwork if they do not feel it is safe to do so. All
line managers at TSA are responsible for ensuring that safety issues are fully
considered, and that the procedures described here are properly implemented by all
staff.
All travel and fieldwork arrangements should be made with safety in mind. This might
include, for example, staying overnight rather than travelling home late at night,
booking accommodation with ensuite facilities, and getting a taxi rather than using
public transport.
TSA is also committed to regularly reviewing and updating this document. The
research team meets every few months to review the policy, and update it where
necessary. The policy will also be regularly reviewed by the SMT. Further, the policy
will be reviewed at regular intervals with all staff, in order to ensure that there is an
organisational commitment to the application of the guidelines.
MOBILE PHONES:
All staff doing fieldwork outside of TSA must have a mobile phone with them. The
Research Administrator must have the number of the phone that staff are using. If a
staff member does not have access to a mobile, TSA will provide one.
TSA’S SYSTEM FOR MONITORING SAFETY OF STAFF DURING FIELDWORK:
Prior to any fieldwork taking place, the nature of the fieldwork must be discussed with
a line manager, in order to make an assessment of risk. Any member of staff who is
undertaking fieldwork in a potentially risky situation, must have a named person at
TSA who is responsible for their safety. Such situations include, for example, when
staff are interviewing people in their own homes.
The named individual at TSA should be either the Research Administrator, or a
member of staff as agreed. Where the Research Administrator is not undertaking this
role, she must be informed in advance who is undertaking this role. In the Research
Administrator’s absence, the Co-Director or Research Team Manager should be
informed, in order to make other arrangements.
The two people concerned should then agree a plan with each other. This must
include the staff member knowing the date, time, and location of the meeting. The
exact procedure will vary according to the type of fieldwork being undertaken, but the
following strategy should be used as standard:
(1) The researcher telephones their ‘partner’ when they arrive safely at the
location of the fieldwork. They also then confirm the location, venue/house
number, and anticipated time of completion, at this time. This must be done
outside the home, or immediately on going in to the home.
(2) The researcher then telephones their partner when they have completed the
fieldwork, to confirm that they have left the site.
(3) A time is also agreed between the researcher and partner for the partner to
call, if they have not heard from the researcher by this time. If the researcher
has not phoned by this time, the staff member will call them on their mobile. If
no reply is received, the staff member will call the venue/house. If the
researcher has not been in contact after one hour, the staff member will notify
a senior member of TSA staff and call the police.
IN ADDITION:
It is important that the arrangements (above) are clear, and that staff members
undertake the procedure as arranged. In particular (1) we must make sure that no
one ‘slips through the net’ and is left unprotected, and (2) we do not want to contact
the police unnecessarily.
This ‘pairing’ system must also be used where fieldwork is undertaken in the
evenings or at the weekend. This may be a member of TSA staff, or a friend or
relative of the researcher. Where a friend or relative is used, however, a clear
procedure (similar to the one above) must be agreed. If this is not possible other
arrangements should be made.
Where it is not possible to find a partner to take on this role, a senior member of the
research team must be informed in order to make other arrangements. Any staff
member may also make this arrangement in relation to travelling back from fieldwork
(for example arranging to telephone when they arrive home), as well as during the
fieldwork itself.
ADDITIONAL SAFETY ELEMENTS:
There are a number of other safety elements that staff should be aware of:
First, some very useful information on safety is provided by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust,
and focuses in particular on working alone in people’s houses. This information is
provided to all research team staff, and discussed at regular intervals by the team.
Second, TSA has a number of personal alarms, which are available for use by all
staff. The Research Administrator holds these, and further items can be purchased
where necessary.
Finally, TSA has already organised three half day sessions on personal safety/
self-defence training for the all research staff. Any member of staff who feels that
they require additional training or support should speak to Debi Roker.