Awareness: The First Step in a Crisis Intervention Game Plan

The concept of awareness isn’t something that just popped up in the tackle box of personal
safety trainers...and it certainly isn’t the most well received topic when introduced in health
care and community living workshops. Some of the responses collected have led us to that
opinion: “So you’re telling me that I have to be aware in order to prevent a situation from
happening? Well, d-uh.”, or “Is that it?”, or “Are you going to show us how to restrain someone
now?” It’s interesting that the Critical Incident Reports for ‘Aggressive Behavior’ always have
the same theme...“It came out of nowhere!”

It should be understood that a strong physical skillbase is not the most important means of
dealing with aggression or violence. The main objective of any Crisis Intervention Game Plan is
to steer clear of a physical confrontation, and that can be done using a safeguard mindset
based on levels of readiness and preparedness. Jeff Cooper, a military leader and innovator,
introduced a set of ‘color conditions’ to differentiate mental states during a given situation.

For example, Subject 1 enters a busy pub to have a few drinks with his friends. About an hour
later, he gets up to use the washroom, only to get assaulted as he was washing his hands.
Subject 1 was in ‘Condition White’ - completely oblivious to what was going on in his immediate
surroundings. He didn’t realize that an unknown subject was watching him a table away, as he
pulled out a wad of cash to pay for his drink.

Now Subject 2 enters a busy pub to have a few drinks with his friends. He stops to scan the
environment. He notices where his friends are, but he also notices where the emergency exits
are, where the bathrooms are located, where the unlit areas are, where the pay phone is
located, as well as a general sense of the crowd. Subject 2 is in ‘Condition Yellow’ - he is relaxed
and cognisant of what is happening around him. He is ‘switched on’, aware, and taking in the
surrounding information. He realizes that he is in an unfamiliar area and among people he
doesn’t know. Subject 2 is sitting with his friends when he notices the group at the table next
to him getting loud and obnoxious. He looks over and makes eye contact with one of the men
at the table. He feels an adrenaline surge coming over him as the man says, “What are you
looking at?” Subject 2 is now in ‘Condition Orange’ - he is alert and focused, while
simultaneously conducting a threat assessment. His prior training has made it easier for him to
recognize that his body is reacting to the threat, that he can control those reactions, and that
he is capable of making an informed and timely decision. He chooses to de-escalate the
situation by responding accordingly, “Sorry mate, you look like someone I knew from high
school.” Of course, had he decided to respond with, “A loud-mouthed jerk!”, he would have
put himself into ‘Condition Red’ and a physical confrontation would most likely have ensued.
In the workplace, it’s not uncommon to see staff complacent or unaware of what their client is
doing. When this occurs, they miss out on recognizing the precipitating stressor, behavioral
indicators, and contributing factors that set him off. It is important to understand that it is
more difficult to de-escalate and manage a situation when someone is in crisis than if
intervention was performed earlier on in the sequence.

There are 4 types of awareness that we have touched on that are essential components of a
functional safeguard plan:

1. Self-awareness (Condition Green) – Are you able to calm yourself and deal with the
situation in a rational manner (as opposed to emotional). Are you in a foul mood to
begin with? Have you had the right training? Are you injured or impaired? These are
some of the questions you will want to know the answers to prior to conflict...your
response counts on it! If all is in order, you should be prepared and able.
2. Environmental Awareness (Condition Yellow) – A general 360 degree radar sweep that
takes into account everything that is active and inactive in your immediate area. You
are relaxed and receptive, gathering information as the ebb and flow of raw material is
available for the discovering. You know what the terrain is like, where escape routes
are, what the weather is like, etc. Your powers of sensation and perception are working
together and ready to move you to the next level, if need be.
3. Situational Awareness (Condition Orange) – Something has tripped your radar and you
are now focusing in on the stimulus. You are alert and attentive, assessing the threat
based on the data that is being given to you. You are evaluating the verbal
communication and the non-verbal communication (body language), with the option of
dilating your focus to see if there are any accompanying complications. Your decision
on how the threat will be managed happens here.
4. Response Awareness (Condition Red) – Action! Your response must be commensurate
with the level of threat that you perceived in the assessment stage...you are
accountable for your actions (or inactions). If you have the ability to avoid or escape
without engaging in a physical confrontation, then that is what you must do. Pre-
emption is the key during crisis intervention.

Unawareness (Condition White), deserves recognition just because most people live here most
of the time. This has also been described as being the ‘victim state’, where people walk around
with their head down, engaged in texting on their phone or listening to their media player,
without any regard to what is happening around them. They are ‘switched off’ and disengaged,
which makes them vulnerable. In the workplace, we see staff socializing with each other while
their client is sitting there unattended, bored, and getting angry. When reports come in to
management, nine times out of ten, the reason why staff get injured is because they are in
Condition White. The cure: be engaged.

There are some instances where people describe having a ‘bad feeling’ or their ‘gut instinct’ has
told them that they might be in danger. Our subconscious awareness is the result of hard
wiring, passed down from our ancestors when their survival was an everyday concern. Modern
living has dampened our need of this mechanism to the point of extinction, which has made
active sensory inclusion a necessity. I like to employ the old adage when this phenomena
occurs - if it feels wrong, it probably is. Take heed and alter the course of your direction.

Finally, you can’t employ awareness when you don’t know what to be aware about. A threat
assessment is the overall process of identifying hazards (including behaviors), and estimating
the magnitude of the associated risks, then coming to a decision on how it should be managed.
In the community living sector, threat assessment training should include these kinds of
questions - How does the client deal with stress? How did the client respond in the past? Who
is vulnerable (target)? What consequences have or have not worked? What’s the motivation
for the client to act out? What is the history of the client? Does the client have mental health
concerns? What medication is the client on? What signals tell you that the client is in
disequilibrium? What are some things that agitate the client? Does the client have difficulty
communicating? What is the client like in group settings? What are the support environments
like (space, noise, lighting, terrain, assistance from other staff, etc.)?

The more knowledge you have, the greater chance you have of noticing and managing physical
aggression at its earliest level. Keep your eyes open and stay safe!

© Conor MacPhee, CCI (2010)