“Block Out happens in Public Service when there is a loss of emotional control.”
If we live too long with emotions of BLAME, ANGER, or HATE… we become a ticking time-bomb that will likely lead to a Block-out escalated encounter.
We all have our own hot buttons that make us angry, but in the moment when something triggers you to emotionally react, this could be career-ending. Learn the steps to de-escalate yourself before you do something you may regret.
When in Block Out, you typically
- Won’t follow Protocols and Procedures
- Have a Lack of Empathy
- Forget all De-escalation Training
- Use profanity unaware of your words
- Escalate unnecessarily
- Harm others with Excessive Use of Force
- Are Out-of-Control with Emotional Rage
Emotional Rage happens in a split second
In public safety (Police, Corrections, EMS, and Fire), if you let your emotions get out of control, it could be career-ending. Anyone, at any time in public safety can experience Block Out.
Tactical (physical) training won’t stop Block Out from happening… Because it is an EMOTIONAL response.
De-escalation needs Emotional Intelligence
To make deescalation training stick, it needs Emotional Intelligence to be taught with it. This in-person training must include Tools in order for the training to be utilized in the classroom and throughout their career.
The RITE Tools create ‘Cognitive Imprinting’ to help an officer on the front-line. Block Out Syndrome is something an officer can be aware of when it is happening, and be able to snap out of it. More Importantly, a co-worker can see it happening, so they can step in, tap out, and take over with Duty to Intervene.
“EI Tools that improve the agency culture is the key to great community policing.”
Leaders LEAD the Agency
From top executive leaders down to the front-line sworn, everyone must be held accountable by issuing Emotional Intelligence Tools. The practice of incorporating Emotional Intelligence in your Professional Workplace Culture helps all in the agency. The entire agency(sworn and non-sworn) must be held accountable inside the agency, before they can be expected to treat all fairly outside the agency.
The Chiefs that says, “It will never happen at my agency.” or “We don’t need De-escalation Training here”… is missing out.
If the command staff think only the front-line sworn need this training, or executive leaders have enough on their plate, they putting the entire agency at risk. Change starts at the top. Everyone that gets RITE training, would be held accountable to improving the Workplace Culture.
Professional Workplace Culture Training with Accountability Tools helps keep everyone accountable for their actions. Those progressive police leaders that have taken proactive steps to incorporate ‘EI Tools’ inside their agency have seen 65% reduction in use-of-force.
Taking a Blind-Eye to Block Out, is like knowing you have a toxic employee and doing nothing to correct it!
Heading into Block-out?
- Just a routine situation
- Hot Buttons get triggered
- Emotions get escalated
- React aggressively – Lack of Behavioral Self-Control
- Outcome with excessive use-of-force
#5 too late… You’re OUT-of-CONTROL!
It only takes 2 seconds to flash into Block-Out Syndrome. How they used RITE to avoid BLOCK-OUT… It’s NEVER too late to DE-Escalate!
Chief Rob Hicks says it best:
One of the key things I got out of this Training, was even though you may have a bad start, you’ve had a bad day, you’re “low on the ladder” and you realize that your interaction is not going well… you can stop, you can rethink, you can apologize for how you just acted or just correct yourself… It’s not too late, you can always De-escalate. [YouTube Video]
RITE Training Classes
RITE provides training to all public service sworn and non-sworn officers. Emotional Intelligence exercises and Tools helps everyone in the agency not only control their emotions inside the agency, but at home as well.
With every class, the LADDER, Stop-Light, NEW DAY Tools and Banners are included in the training, and left behind for the agency to use. RITE is not a one and done class!
RITE Academy Stats
- Trained over 1000 agencies on Professional Workplace Culture
- Created over 950 RITE train-the-trainers
- Gave out more than 550,000 RITE Tools for employees
- Provided hundreds of newsletters for agencies to give to their employees
- Helped agencies reduce their use-of-force incidents by 65%
- Educated local governments, state, and federal representative on public safety reform
