FIELD PROCEDURES
and
SAFETY
Safety Awareness and Field
Education Resources LLC
INTRODUCTION
Bob Graham
Who are your instructors?
Bob Graham
 Verbal
Diffusion Instructor
 Behavior Management Instructor
 Adult/Juvenile Program Supervisor
 Worked with Juvenile Offenders for
13 years
 Dealing with Resistive Youth
Instructor for 4 years.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO
KNOW ABOUT FIELD
SAFETY ?
Course Objectives
 Utilize
agency resources, procedures
and personal safety skills to ensure
safety
 Recognize and respond to dangerous
situation in the workplace and Field
Contacts
EVEN ROUTINE CHORES ARE
RISKY
PERSONAL INVENTORY
What situations do you become physically
and emotionally stressed?
 What happens to you “physically” when
you feel threatened?
 What is your self-talk (thinking) when you
feel threatened?
 What is your behavior when you feel
threatened
 How will knowing about your own
responses to stress/threats help you?

TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES
KNOW YOUR SELF
 Identify situations which cause you stress
 Your physical limitations
 Confidence in your ability to respond
KNOW THE CLIENT
 History (violence, drugs, alcohol, mental health
concerns)
 Friends and acquaintances
 Thinking distortions / Risk thinking
KNOW YOUR COWORKERS AND RESOURCES
 Who is in the office (back-up, show of force,
support persons strengths)
 Police response time
The Awareness Test
Cooper Awareness Scale
Developed by Jeff Cooper
 White
 Yellow
 Orange
 Red
 Black
White Zone
 Totally
Relaxed State of mind
 Secure environment (home)
 No person present is a
conceivable threat
 Should avoid condition white
while on the job
Yellow Zone
 Relaxed
awareness
 On the job, maintain condition yellow
at a minimum
 Aware of your surrounding
environment
 Conscious of what is happing around
you and able to detect potential
trouble
Orange Zone
State of Alarm
 You are prepared
to defend yourself
 Aware of cues of
possible threats

– Raised voice
Red Zone




State of combat
You are the physical
target
You must be prepared
to disengage or
tactically control the
threat
Mental conditioning
will facilitate
appropriate response
Black Zone
State of blind panic
 Threat overwhelms
you
 Unable to react,
you become the
victim
 Obviously, you
want to avoid
Condition Black at
all times

TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES
ANALYZE SENSORY
AND
ENVIRONMENTA
L CLUES
SENSORY SCANNING
 Visual Scanning
 Auditory Scanning
 Olfactory Scanning
SENSORY SCANNING

VISUAL SCAN:
Lighting
Animals
Other People
Doors and Windows
Weapons
Shields
Cover
Contraband
Escape Routes
Environmental Baseline
SENSORY SCANNING
AUDITORY SCANNING
 Other Voices / Conversations
 Noises
OLIFACTORY SCANNING
 Odors (drugs, chemicals, alcohol)
 Hygiene (change in baseline)
FIELD EQUIPMENT
 Cell
Phone (Ice your phone)
 Emergency numbers
 Gas card / Money
 Whistle / Body alarm
 Directions / Map
 Other ?
 The “Go Bag”
The “Go Bag”
 What
is in it?
 What should be in it?
 Where do I keep it?
FIELD CONTACT ITINERARY
 Field
contact itinerary is a tool
for safety and supervision.
1. Group field contacts
geographically and plan travel route
2. Field contact information / Case
file
3. Leave copy of itinerary with
supervisor or designee. Enter
planned return time.
Who is your assailant when get
attacked. (based on probation officer assaults)
8%
Clients Friend
20% Anonymous
31% Clients Family
41% Client
Reducing the odds of Assault
you reduce the odds of being attacked by:
 70%
with 1 other staff members
present
 90%
with 2 or more staff members
present
 Both
staff members should go to the door
FIELD SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS
Reputation of neighborhood
 Observe pedestrian / traffic flow
 Watch for graffiti on walls
 Assess your visibility in the area
 Be aware of lighting conditions
 Your “gut feeling”
 Geographical factors
 Planned or unplanned visit
 Cell phone or radio communication in the
area

APPROACHING THE
RESIDENCE
 Park
in convenient and conspicuous
location
 Remain in open and plain view
 Be alert to unusual activity
 Observe physical condition of
residence
 Note vehicles and their location
Approaching the Door
 Note
windows
 Which direction does the door swing
 Stand behind the jam
 Knock and step back and to the side
What about Dogs??
 Use
whatever you have in your hands to
ward off the dog. (briefcase, clip board,
purse)
 Do not run or turn your back to the dog.
 Don’t think that if the dog is not barking it
is not dangerous.
 If a dog seems friendly don’t pet the dog.
 If you approach a fenced yard shake your
keys or shake fence if chain link.
Dog’s body language
What are other animals to be
aware of.
When cats go bad
Meth Houses?
 Chemical
Containers
 Empty pill containers
 Gas Canisters
 Urea smell
 Batteries
 Blue Tarps
 Pornography
Partnering with Law Enforcement
 Be
prepared
 Provide Facts and other information
 Be clear with what your intentions
and authority in the situation.
Please
look at the
following photos
and tell me what
you see.
What tools do you need to keep
yourself safe?
Cell
 Visit log
 Back-up

Street Survival
 Street
Survival is the realistic
anticipation of threats that may
arise, and
 Developing
options for preventing or
resolving those threats safely
Proper Action Requirements
 Remain
 Being
alert
decisive
 Having
in mind
a planned, Practiced response