Goodness, no! We have unarmed security, who attend the same ācrisis deescalationā classes I do. Weāre starting a new system currently. Iāve done the online portion (ridiculously basic, with no option to just take the stupid tests and move on) but am priority 3 for the in-person portion, which I believe runs two days. Currently the ED and PSIU (psych inpatient) are rolling through it, next will be us - outpatient behavioral health - then any medical departments thought to need it. Hereās what weāll get:
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We needed something harder-ass than the previous system, because staff are still complaining about the violence theyāre subjected to. This was two years agoās system:
Pro-ACT is based on a set of principles that focus on maintaining client dignity and keeping people safe. Offering professionals the skills needed to reduce or avoid restraint, the Pro-ACT curriculum provides Train-the-Trainer as well as In-service training.
In both cases, weāve been asked if weād like to train to be trainers, so Iād be the one teaching this self-defense. Which you may be able to guess is a colossal joke (I declined). My clinic manager was one of two Pro-Act trainers when I did the training. She looks like a classic cartoon āsmart girl,ā with bright red hair and glasses, and sometimes multiple pens stuck in her bun or pony tail or whatever distracted, messy thing sheās pulled it into. Which sort of describes everyone I work with, now that I think about it. A bunch of cartoon characters, none of whom would be cast as a bad ass.
In the event of a weapon drawn or physical aggression police are called and staff handle it until they arrive. We also have - separately - active shooter trainings, which amount to locking ourselves into whatever space we can and not opening the door to our coworkers no matter how much they beg. Sorry, Sara, no can do!
Bear in mind that my clinic prescribes psychotropic medication and the medication providers often do UAās, which means that sometimes people are cut off or refused meds they want. Weāre somewhat protected by our very limited benzos and stimulant policy, but the people we serve often come to us after an inpatient stint, and we do have recent ex-cons and recovering addicts.
I worked with a nurse in the immediate aftermath of an attack on the psych floor. Sheās under 5ā tall, and the attacker - a large psychotic woman - took her down and pulled out a maybe 3" square swatch of hair. Working in community health, one of my coworkers (male) was attacked with a hammer and another (female) was punched in the face. In the case of the hammer attack another coworker with martial arts training was able to subdue, so no injury. Lucky that guy was there.
Meanwhile, LEO morale and recruitment is at a low for my lifetime. Allowing the lawsuits to start flying wonāt improve the situation as a whole.
I donāt disagree with you, and donāt know how to manage the need to keep both sides safe.
My son thought briefly about law enforcement while in college, but decided no for the reasons you cite. Itās a loss for whatever community he might have served - as a little boy he wanted to grow up to be āa hero.ā He loves rules and he loves rescuing people. Heās now a 911 dispatcher. If heās able to hang on Iām sure heāll move up the ranks, but they, too, are woefully understaffed, which means endless overtime, no predictability in time off, and of course exposure to horror taking the calls.
