Knife and Edged Weapon Awareness: Online Course
An online awareness course for non-police, community-facing staff that teaches judgement rather than technique, covering weapon identification, the Golden Rule of not engaging, range and barriers, and scenario practice across seven lessons.
Chaos, Control then Resolution: Lessons from Three Days of Functional Skills for PPST and PMVA Trainers
Three days of Functional Edge System CPD in Penrith brought trainers from policing, healthcare, care, security and schools together to practise the messy middle of a confrontation rather than the clean start and finish.
Keeping Lone Workers Safe: Information Sharing
A video clip from a lone worker safety course in which Gerard O’Dea describes a case where a worker was seriously attacked by someone who had threatened her, but the warning was never shared.
Punch Drunk Restraint Training Design
Mark Dawes asked 356 NHS nurses how they had been assaulted and found front-on punches and slaps dominated. The post argues breakaway courses should train for that, using stimulus identification to cut reaction time.
Care Home Safe Holding: Massive Fines in Elderly Care Home Worker Stabbing
Stephen Flatt was placed at Abacus House, where staff had no training for his bipolar disorder or for violence. He killed care worker Kathleen Bainbridge, and fines and costs approached £900,000 in total.
Reacting more quickly: Stimulus Identification in Breakaway Training
Reaction time depends on how many stimuli a person has to choose between. The post applies stimulus-response research from sport to breakaway training, arguing that reading pre-assault mannerisms can shorten response time.
Retail Security Risks and Training in Personal Safety
A security guard was stabbed with a syringe in a Kent supermarket. The post sets out the risks retail staff face, from drug-related violence to knife carrying, and argues for better training needs analysis.
Community Safety and the Threat of Knife Crime: Part 2
Part two asks how community safety teams should assess knife risk. It holds that non-police staff should not confront armed people, then argues that street teams still need preparation, comparing this to fire drills.
Community Safety and the Threat of Knife Crime: Part 1
Commissioned by a local authority, this first part explains why community safety officers asked for edged weapon training, sets out knife crime figures, and describes what the course covers.