Personal safety - Improving your observations

Let’s first look at how you observe situations.

Observe the picture above how would you approach the situation, let’s say for example you have been asked to assist with the person?

Is she unwell, or in fact breathing?

She could be just asleep?

Would you approach her and check that she is ok ?

I can see all of those hours of training in first aid come flooding through to you, Danger response Airway Breathing Circulation, all really good stuff.

The first question I will ask you is this.

We would hope that your first thought in this situation would be “Where’s my exit”.

Now I can hear you thinking “do you know I never even thought of that”!

Well at least we have a starting point, oh yes I forgot to add if your exit system was your first thought well done.

So what could be wrong with the person –

• Drink

• Drugs

• Unwell

• Faking.

If you think about it there could be lots of different things to consider in essence thousands of risks in any situation from getting on a bus, train, aircraft or even walking down the road.

One of the first things we would like you to do is place all of those risks into only two categories. Whilst you sit there scratching your head and thinking quite rightly thousands of risks into two risk areas they must be mad.

So here goes in Protaris we only have two risk categories or assessments.

1. High Risk

2. Unknown risk.

look at that picture again what category would you put that situation in , if you said unknown risk which in our experience most people do, I would just like to add this to the scenario that you have just looked at.

I suppose the best way to deal with this is by a "what if."

• What if the lady is carrying a knife?

• What if they lady has been using drugs

• What if the lady has some mental health issues?

• What if she is a diagnosed schizophrenic with violent tendencies?

• What if she is carrying a gun?

Doesn’t the picture change somewhat into a High risk category, now before you think this is not a natural way to think you are quite right but if you think about it, it makes sense?

In Protaris we work the opposite to both we assess high and work down, where most people will assess low and work up.

You do this quite naturally you know, have you ever been on a busy bus or train and a seat becomes available, and this little thing pops up in your brain that says “Nope I’m not going to sit their” – that’s that fantastic instinctive defence system called instinct.

So lets put this into context. We have said that she is high risk, so what do we know about her. Nothing really you could say, but actually we know lots about the person, we know lots because you have information just there in front of you

YOUR OBSERVATIONS – now this really is where we start to work