The purpose of this course is to train hospital security officers to provide reliable physical protection within the parameters of policy, and their specific job requirements.  The skills we teach are based on attributes of professionalism, including situation / response analysis, psychology of deterrence, attack management, security tactics, legal decision making, and a clear definition of responsibility and authority.

While officers who have not received high quality, reality based training may deter, their response during unusual or emergency situations may not be predictable or reliable.  Our training has several main objectives.  They are to:

• aid the officer in presenting a respectable and competent presence in routine operations,
• provide the officer with skills for use in unusual and emergency situations, and
• provide management with a logical and consistent framework for planning, response, control, and after-action analysis and justification.

Participants consistently tell us that this course is both demanding and rewarding.  Critiques from veteran officers and instructors who attend our courses frequently contain the statement, "this is the best training I have ever received."

Our techniques and methods are highly effective and reality based, but more importantly, our formula for situational training allows trainees to face routine and emergency situations similar to their job conditions and parameters. The human brain learns and stores techniques (motor skills), and situational recognition and decision making in two very separate ways. Learning only a technique may have little or nothing to do with its application in real life. Conversely, learning situational decision making may be unreliable and ineffective without practical and useful methods and procedures.

For those who carry firearms, integrating all response modes is of the highest importance. Usually, the officer’s state of training and preparation is assumed to be acceptable, since routine situations do not call for use of force. If an officer’s routine behavior is perceived as acceptable, his/her probable emergency behavior would be assumed to be acceptable. However, one has little to do with the other.

Our training causes officers to employ all of their available means of control appropriately in virtually all relevant job tasks. We employ simulated ammunition and operational (but safe) firearms, inert OC, and baton simulators in our situational training for those who will be carrying those instruments. We also employ radio systems and simulated supervision, as well as apply the agency’s policy during simulation training. If an agency lacks policy, we use our policies. We also confidentially suggest force and tactics related policy additions or modifications to agency management.

At the end of this training, the officer will be able to:

• determine when the potential for violence is present,
• make proactive determinations when to:
  • request the aid of a supervisor,
  • alert others,

    Hospital Security Officer Course

  • request assistance,
• recognize tactical limitations of armed/unarmed security officers,
• make appropriate on-the-spot decisions regarding the use of force and tactics,
• employ safety tactics to:
  • observe, sweep, and secure rooms and other areas,
  • respond to alarms and probable emergencies,
• use verbal direction (persuasion, advice, and warning) to control subjects,
• use physical control methods for self-defense,
• stabilize situations pending arrival of outside law enforcement assistance authorities, and
• provide physical protection to others.

Instructional fee includes:

• Manuals and other instructional equipment for trainees.
• Initial research and consultation into agency policy, training objectives, and history and patterns of related problems.

In short, as with other elements of total training design, appropriate, valid, and reliable testing for open psychomotor skill testing was lacking, so we developed it. As with the Use of Force Model, no other training concern that we know of has these types of testing instruments, unless copied from those which we developed.

COURSE COMPONENTS

The following are major components of the training. Each of these components is broken down into sub-components, including simulations. All components are integrated, enabling the officer to flow easily from one to another as the situation changes.

• Principles of Control, including
  • Use of force
  • Psychology of conflict
  • Physics of control / Body mechanics
  • Attack management theory and methods
• Assailant Control
• Resister Control
• Cooperative Subject Control and Tactics
• Tactical Communications and Persuasion
• Extendible Baton
• OC
• Hospital Security Procedures and Tactics, including observation, deterrence, and response at:
  • Parking lots and exterior areas
  • Emergency room
  • Public / commercial areas and lobbies
• Handling mental subjects
• Prisoner security and response
• Integrating all security components
• Providing Protection for Others
• Integrated Firearms (if applicable), and Operational Training
• Incident Report Writing

To receive certification, candidates must pass written, performance, and situational assessments. These assessments determine competency based on established professional attributes and standards of responsibility.

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