A Scottish police service had a training requirement to carry out Officer Safety Training for a team of Custody Officers. Their role: dealing with the needs of alleged offenders brought into custody in the police station.
Who Engaged Dynamis
A training partner of Dynamis, with whom we had worked on a number of projects involving physical intervention and self-defence training, was approached by the police service for this restraint training programme. Our partner was aware that we could tailor a course based on a set of scenario-specific goals and organised for us to engage with the team.
Initial Analysis
This team would require training in a very specific set of personal protection skills, moulded by the environmental and contextual demands of their role:
- Clients (persons in custody) experiencing high levels of stress
- Verbal abuse and difficult behaviour during and perhaps post-arrest
- Confined spaces in custody areas, including furniture and equipment
- Close proximity with the subjects, for example during alcohol breath testing
- The risks of restraint-related sudden deaths in custody and excited delirium
The mental modelling, attack pattern analysis and defensive gesture components of this training relied heavily on our Functional Edge training system — taught to all our instructors on the Officer Safety Trainer certification course.
Training Delivery
This restraint training for Custody Officers was designed as a blend of theoretical and practical sessions. We introduced and reviewed the key issues of law in regard to custodial settings, the key risks — focusing in particular on levels of violence, alcohol and drug factors, and sudden in-custody death.
We then presented a series of exercises and drills built on the behavioural realities of violent physical interactions: the Startle Reflex, the inbuilt Attack Pattern, and Proxemics/Positioning in the custody scenario.
Outcomes
The police service Custody Officer team was delighted with the results. The course provided their team with relevant and appropriate skills and knowledge in a short timeframe, tailored specifically for their job-role and task environment.
✅ Proven result: Scenario-specific training that can be adapted to any custodial environment — confined spaces, close proximity, high-stress subjects — delivered by instructors who understand the context.
Learn more: Officer Safety Training at Dynamis