Tense situations on client sites often escalate into violent confrontations. It’s basic human nature to get angry when one does not feel understood. However having professional foot patrol guards on-site can easily identify the situation, listen to people, support & uplift them to defuse the tension & restore momentum. How? Let’s take a look at the tactics commonly used by foot patrol guards to handle tricky situations.

Stay One Step Ahead

Foot patrol guards are expected to familiarise themselves with everyday operations as well as the property they are guarding. This tactic simply enables them to identify potential problems way before they happen & plan strategically to stay one step ahead to handle the situation efficiently on any client site.

Watch For The Warning Signs

In order to identify problems & de-escalate violent confrontations, foot patrol guards of every reliable security guard company are trained to look for warning signs. For that, they observe another person’s verbal & physical behavior. On seeing signs of agitation, they ensure they keep their body language calm to avoid fuel to the situation.

Establish Authority

De-escalating violent confrontations on-site requires an authoritative figure. It’s far superior to reacting to violence as it occurs. Foot patrol guards in such situations ensure they establish from the start who they are and that they are there to help. Not only this helps offset any feeling of rebellion but also sets the tone for the rest of the conversation.

Acknowledge The Problem

Situations often escalate quickly when people feel misunderstood. Which is why foot patrol guards, instead of asking a person if they are upset, when they clearly are, focus on acknowledging the emotion & problem. They ask open-ended questions to seek understanding while keeping their tone & volume in check and avoiding judgment & sarcasm.

Practice Being A Good Listener

Most of the time, angry people just want to be heard. All they want is to vent out all those emotions. Foot patrol guards finding themselves in such a situation ensure they maintain a safe distance, using their body positioning and non-verbal actions like maintaining eye contact and nodding their head, show that they are being heard as well as understood.

Demonstrate Empathy

After establishing effective communication, demonstrating empathy is the next big step that can significantly decrease the likelihood of a violent confrontation. It involves foot patrol guards showing the other person that they understand how they feel by clarifying, paraphrasing, or making a personal connection. But that does not necessarily mean that they are going to agree with their claims.

Help Come To A Resolution

Solving a dispute that could easily turn into a violent situation isn’t always simple. But after following the above steps and helping the person calm down, foot patrol guards work through a resolution to ensure the situations do not escalate again. They not only ask the person for their thoughts on an ideal solution by also calmly & clearly explain it to all parties.

Foot patrol guards of every reliable security guard company are specifically trained to handle potentially dangerous situations while keeping safe & secure and so are Plaza protection’s security guards. If you are looking for dedicated foot patrol security services to guard your property in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact us or request a free quote today.