City Council De-escalation TrainingCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE:
SUMMARY:
SUGGESTED
DISPOSITION:
Copyrighted
February 7, 2022
Special Session -Top # 1.
5:15 PM - City Council De-escalation Training *Occurring before the
official City Council meeting
The Dubuque Police Department will conduct a de-escalation training for
the City Council.
*Note: This training is not part of the official City Council meeting.
De-escalation 2/7/22
City Council Presentation
Lt. Rick Fullmer, Dubuque Police Department
• The source materials for this presentation are available upon request.
If you're interested just send mean email
Rfullmer@citvofdubuquE.org
Thank you
De-escalation
What Is De -
Escalation?
Police Definition
De -Escalation is defined as:
Taking action or communicating verbally or non -verbally during a
potential force encounter in an attempt to stabilize the situation
and reduce the immediacy of the threat so that more time, options,
and resources can be called upon to resolve the situation without
the use of force or with a reduction in the force necessary. All while
ensuring officer and public safety is optimized.
• A process by which we
attempt to reduce the
intensity of a conflict or
potentially violent
situation.
What Is De -Escalation?
Some people say...
• De -Escalation tactics are non-physical skills used to prevent a
potentially dangerous situation from escalating into a physical
confrontation or injury.
• "To improve law enforcement officer's ability to deal with persons
who live with brain health issues..."
This mind -set has evolved into training as well
Traditional Tactical Training
Lem
CIT approach
An Integrated Approach
We are not going to separate use -of -force
(tactical training) from de-escalation.
Ever read this?
Police fight subject with Type II diabetes and a thyroid condition
We De-escalate people, not a diagnosis
• Case Study: Psychiatric Diagnoses are "Scientifically Meaningless"
Psychiatry Research (July,2019) https://neurosciencenews.com/meaningless-
psychiatric-diagnosis-14434/
There was ameta-analysis done on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (4thand 5t" Edition) in which the authors conclude that the
manual's rules are inconsistent and subjective, leaving a huge amount of
overlap in symptoms between diagnoses.
Dr. John Read: "perhaps it is time we stopped pretendingthat medical
sounding labels contribute anything to our understanding of the complex
causes of human distress or what kind of help we need when distressed:'
Realistic De -Escalation.....
Does not mean that force will not be required when the context
demands it.
Sometimes officers need to quickly and decisively intervene with force
in order to prevent a situation from escalating.
*Reasonable force should be used at the right time, to the right degree, for the right reason.*
*CRITICAL ISSUE*
LAWFUL BUT AWFUL _
It's Legal
Lawfulness is foundational, BUT but it
we need to move beyond lawful in ain't Right
training to `necessity.'
Trained Professionals
Our Goal is to improve our ability
to manage human beings by
enhancing skills to establish
� contact, build rapport, and
Am*..� � gain influence to achieve an
established objective.
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"Strategic Thinking"
The science and art of employing
available knowledge, skills and
resources in an effective manner to
achieve a successful resolution.
Calm- the person is relatively cooperative
Trigger -The person experiences unresolved
conflicts which causes their behavior to escalate
Agitation -
and upset
The person is increasingly unfocused
Acceleration- The Conflict remains unresolved.
The person's main focuses on the conflict.
Stages of
Behavior
Escalation
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. Peak
4. Acceleration
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1 Calm �
. De-escalation
. Recovery
E
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Engaged
f
Efcien
pti mum
Demands
Overload
Anxiety
Burnout
Emotional Intelligence
• Emotional Intelligence is the
ability to recognize, identify,
and manage one's own
emotions, as well as the
emotions of others and to
use this awareness to
become intentional and
purposeful in our decision
making.
• Being Smarter with Feelings
Self -Awareness
• Check -In
Demonstrate that you understand what we are feeling and why we are
feeling that way. It provides an awareness of our thoughts and
emotions; more specifically where our thoughts and feelings are
coming from.
You're not always FINE. Or GOOD
State of Mind
• State of mind
Your state consists of what you're thinking and feeling at the current
moment.
Event
Thought
Feeling
We have a choice about our thoughts, feeling
using and balancing all three. As we become
unproductive TFA we can replace them with
s, and actions. EQ is about
more aware of
more productive ones.
Core beliefs are the very essence of how we see ourselves, other
people, the world, and our future. They are deeply held core values
that influence how we interpret our experiences.
Core beliefs operate as our GPS system; they navigate and determine
our destiny in life. They control most of what we do each day. Many
of our core beliefs operate at an unconscious level.
CPR: beliefs 4 thoughts/feelings 4actions4 outcomes
Dare I say that our biases are born from our core beliefs?
Core Beliefs
...Our core beliefs are our essence.
Essence: An indispensable quality
that determines our character.
Beliefs come from our experiences,
events, environment, relationships, and
are often from our childhood.
What is your favorite quote?
Recognizing Patterns
"It's hard to change our perspective if we don't know our perspective."
- Dr. Nicole Keedy
Acknowledge frequently recurring reactions and behaviors.
We become creatures of habit and act on autopilot- we react unconsciously based neural
pathways we've wired in our brains.
These patterns, if left unchecked (unconscious), can inhibit optimal performance
because they are a generalized response rather than one that is carefully tailored to
the current situation.
Pause and Protect
Mindfulness Exercises
• Raisin Exercise
• Body Scan Exercise
• Seeing Mindfully
• Bringing Awareness Exercise
Box Breathing Exercise
• Inhale through your nose 4 seconds
• Hold for four seconds
• Breathe out through your nose 4
seconds
• Hold for four seconds
• repeat
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Stress is the result of a
perception
*Stress is the
condition
experienced
when someone
PERCEIVES that
they are unable
to meet the
demands placed
upon them.
Kahneman: Two
systems of thinking
• System 1 operates automatically and
quickly, with little or no effort and no
sense of voluntary control.
• System 2 allocates attention to the
effortful mental activities that demand
it, including complex computations.
The operations of System 2 are often
associated with the subjective
experience of agency, choice, and
concentration.
Involuntary control
r
Effortlessness
Patience
Concentration
BRAIN
SYSTEMS
Innate skills
Speed
Reflex
Reason
Constructed
thoughts
Analytics
Trauma and Emotional Regulation
What impact does stress have Person#1 might have started out as a 4 on a 10-
on our emotional regulation? point scale, jumps to a 7 when they see the dog
but then sees a fence separating them. Person #1
quickly comes back down to a 4.
Two people walking down the person #2 starts the day at a 7 on that same scale
street. Pass a yard with a dog because they've experienced trauma. Person #2
jumps to a 10, doesn't see the fence, can't
that growls and charges. regulate their emotions, and can't come back
down.
Don't Chase Them Over the Peak
4. Acceleration
. Agitation ' �
. Thigger
1 Calm j
moml
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• T. Recovery
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Engaged
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Optimum
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Tactical Adaptability
• The ability to adjust your interventions and interactions dependent
upon the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of a subject
• The ability to regulate and restrain your emotions and non-verbal
presentation
If stress arousal gets uncontrollably high; you lose the ability to think
critically, rationally, imaginatively, and consequentially.
De -Escalation Tactics
Which part do you have control over?
J E&
• Is perceiving the situation as
a threat- Fight or Flight
• Has coping mechanisms that
aren't working at the time
• Has a disorganized approach
to problem solving
• CRISIS: A situation
that a person
perceives as
presenting
unsurmountable
obstacles to
achieving desired
goals or outcomes.
Conflict
• The perceived blocking of important
goals, needs, or interests of one
person or group by another person or
group.
• EQcorner
Research suggests that emergency
responders who practice EQare more
likely to be effective in areas such as
tolerating stress, communicating with
others, and resolving conflicts.
Two different communication approaches
Conflict Necessitates Directive Crisis Communications- talk less, listen
Communication more
• Show the subject there is a limit
to how far they can pursue their
behavior and make them aware
of their consequences.
• Communication strategies used
to bring a crisis to a successful
resolution — "de-escalation"
55°Yo
Three Aspects to
Communication
Body Language (non-verbal)
• eye contact
• Posture
• Gestures
• Facial expression
Tone of voice
-pitch
-pace
-volume
-emotion
Words (Verbal)
Most people do not
listen with the intent
to understand.
Most people listen
with the intent tc
reply.
— Stephen R. Covey
Actively Listen
• At first, don't try to persuade or
argue.
• Give the person a chance to vent.
• Show interest by making eye
contact, having attentive body
posture, restating the main points.
• IF the person curses at or insults
you try to calmly respond without
being baited into retaliating with
anger or sarcasm.
Class and Hidden Rules
• Social Class can be a significant barrier to communication.
• We must understand that each class has a certain set of hidden rules.
• What's important to one class may not be important to another.
• Did your supper taste good? vs. did you get enough to eat?
• Another reason why we can't immediately dismiss the other person's concerns.
• You have to be willing to step outside your box and look at the conflict
through another lens.
• Pay attention to the register you use.
• Letting the person vent may be even more important if informal register is
how they are used to speaking.
• https://www.vuutube.com/watch?v=QwdtiIN818o
ng their words.
➢Paraphrasing — Saying what they said in your words.
➢Emotional Labeling —Identifying their emotions.
➢Summarizing — Using both paraphrasing and emotional labeling to shorten
the original message.
➢Validate the Emotions- send a direct and clear message that their
experience is understandable, real, and (sometimes) logical, given what
has happened.
It's Not about the Nail
• https://www.voutube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrO
Be Empathetic And
Non -Judgmental
• When someone says or does
something you perceive as irrational,
don't judge or discount their
feelings.
• The issue may be the most
important thing in their life, at that
moment.
• You may not think the feelings are
justified but the subject is feeling
them all the same.
• Be mindful of your words, facial
expressions, and body
posture.....smirks, eye rolls, sighs,
and not making eye contact can be
perceived as disrespectful.
• Be careful with humor
Allowing personal space tends
to decrease a person's anxiety
• Stand far enough back
so the person can't
punch, kick, slap or
grab you (Safety
gap/Reactionary gap)
• Don't stand toe to toe
or eye to eye with
them
• Keep your back
straight and shoulders
back
• Appear calm
Conflict and Crisis Communication
Choices and consequences/benefits.
Goal is to influence change rather than make change.
"I'm going to let you make a decision on how you want to handle this". .000
Oor
Showing empathy and building rapport.
"Tell me what has happened to you to make you feel this way".
Never say Never,
but....Telling
someone to calm
down does not
ever work
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
--TDECEM BER 23, 2017 A
Talk Tactically
Identify thoughts and
emotions
Validate the emotions
Process those
thoughts
(4
Total Voice Control
L.S.D. talk tactic
LOWER your volume
SLOW your tempo
DEEPEN your tone
The brain hears slower during a crisis
SCIENCE OF EMOTIONAL
CONTAGION
The amygdala instantly reacts to such a photo; the
stronger the emotion displayed, the more intense
the amygdala's reaction
- "When people looked at such photos while
undergoing an fMRI, their own brains looked
like they were the frightened ones."
• "Mirror neurons ensure that the moment someone
sees an emotion expressed on your face, they will at
once sense that same feeling within themselves."
Emotional Contagion ... normal words.
• Ever noticed that you feel happy around happy people and sad around sad
or depressed people, or even agitated around anxious people?
• Research shows that if you spend enough time with people, their emotions
will rub off on you.
• This is known as "'emotional contagion" and is facilitated by an
interconnected network of cells in the brain that make up the Mirror
Neuron System (MNS).
• The MNS is a bit like a high -definition camera that observes and records
every detail of people's facial expressions, body language, pupil
movements and even vocal tones. So, if you're with someone who is
happy, and their happiness is written all over their face, so to speak, your
MNS will record their displays of happiness, but it will also signal the same
displays in you.
Tactics Continued...
➢Have a planned script you can recite in tense encounters.
➢ It may help as opposed thinking on the fly.
➢"I can't do what you're asking. It's against my department's policies
and I could lose my job".
Factors That May Trigger
Aggression
(in no particular order)
• Mental illness
• Substance abuse
• Physical disability, chronic
pain, unregulated medical
condition
Highly stressful situations
• Feelings of powerlessness,
fear, grief, injustice,
boredom', humiliation
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Common traits of
Agitation
• Raised voice
• High-pitched voice
• Rapid speech
—• Pacing
• Excessiw sweating
• Exaggerated hand gestures
• Fidgeting
Sha
sive posture
What if things don't get better?
➢If the situation continues to escalate:
➢ Have a plan in place you can put into action.
➢Have uninvolved staff move people away from the incident.
➢Have staff call the police.
➢ Maintain or expand your safety gap.
➢Remember ... no matter how hard you try you won't be able to fix
this person's entire situation.
➢You're just trying to get through this initial conflict.
➢We can refer services when things calm down if need be.
Universal Truths
People feel the need to be respected.
People would rather be asked than told.
People have a desire to know why.
People prefer to have options over threats.
People want to have a second chance.
Thank You.
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC By.