Violence can erupt in any place, at any time. It can also involve anybody, innocent bystanders and passers-by included.
I say this having just returned from a break on-board a cruise liner, Norwegian Jade, where I travelled on a Caribbean cruise for my Christmas break.
However, while I may have been on holiday, there was one day in particular that I was required to use my conflict resolution and physical intervention skills.
You see, 9 days into my stay on the Norwegian cruise liner, trouble broke out between a 22-year-old guest and some of the ship’s staff in one of the bar areas.
It’s believed that the young man had been asked to leave the bar after getting into an altercation with another man and was escorted from the area by security staff. But he soon returned and continued to refuse to leave. This time around, when he was escorted out, he ended up assaulting one of the members of staff, which resulted in them suffering a broken nose, as well as several broken teeth.
I was in the area at the time, so saw and heard the build-up and, based on my extensive knowledge and experience, instinctively knew that the incident was going to result in violence.
It was essential that the violence that did erupt was effectively handled and contained, so I quickly arm locked and handcuffed the young man, using cuffs from the ship’s security guards. He was then taken to the ship’s jail for the remainder of the journey before being handed over to the police in Miami.
So, what does this incident teach us? As stated in my opening line, the risk of violence erupting is never far away, regardless of whether you’re at a concert, in a bar or on holiday, like I was. The smallest of things can trigger the fuse that sparks violence and can be as simple as somebody misinterpreting another person’s words. And unfortunately, once it’s been triggered, it’s been triggered – knowing how to rein it in and minimise the likelihood of widespread damage being caused to people and property is key.
If I hadn’t have predicted the violence that was on the horizon and stepped in to appropriately restrain the individual so he could be safely escorted away, it’s inevitable that more assaults would have taken place. What’s more, the safety of everybody on the ship would have been jeopardised, along with the ship’s reputation.
I’m glad I was on hand to do what I do best and I’m particularly glad that the incident didn’t escalate out of control. Who knows what would have happened otherwise…
Conflict resolution and physical intervention training isn’t just for security staff, it’s for everybody and can make all the difference between an incident being nipped in the bud with minimum violence to an incident spiralling out of control with multiple injuries. Both can happen instantly.
To find out more about how physical intervention or conflict resolution training could benefit you, contact me on info@good-sense.co.uk or 0845 576 0035. For details of our current courses, visit https://www.good-sense.co.uk//training-courses/
Wishing you a safe 2018,
Darren Good
Founder, GoodSense Training
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