User Stories: Physical Abuse

An engineer was completing a home call out when the customer began acting violently towards him. The customer first started being verbally abusive towards the engineer, but they then grabbed a broom and started to attack him with it. The engineer tried to calm the customer down, but the situation was escalating, so he decided to activate his SOS alarm. The Alarm Controller could hear the commotion in the background so escalated the situation to the police via the URN, getting the fastest response possible. While waiting for the police to arrive on scene, the Controller followed the user’s escalation instructions, contacting the user’s manager to inform him of the situation. The police arrived on site within 5 minutes and the user confirmed they were safe and the alarm could be closed down.

A hotel concierge was working on the front desk when a drunk and disorderly guest started attacking another customer. The concierge had tried to step in and diffuse the situation, but at this point the guest began acting aggressively towards them, so the concierge decided to discreetly activate an SOS alarm and used their predetermined duress word to let the Alarm Controller know that they needed urgent assistance.

The Controller could see the meaning of the duress word on the user’s profile and wasted no time in contacting the police. While the police were on their way, the Controller called the hotel reception to speak to the user and find out further details without raising suspicion. The Controller remained on the phone with the user until the police arrived on scene and the user confirmed they were pleased for the alarm to be closed.

A delivery driver was working delivering parcels when an angry customer came out of their property and began attacking him. The customer had originally begun shouting abuse at the driver, before going inside to get a garden fork to use as a weapon. The delivery driver had already called the police while the situation was escalating but activated his Peoplesafe device once the customer became physically violent.

The alarm was received by an expert Alarm Controller in the Peoplesafe ARC, who monitored the situation silently for 10 seconds to assess the situation. Once the Controller confirmed it was safe to talk to the user, they began asking questions about the situation and the user confirmed that they had already contacted the police and were now in a safe location. The Controller followed the escalation instructions left on the user’s personal profile and contacted their manager to inform her of the situation. The Controller stayed on the line with the user until the police arrived, providing reassurance and monitoring the situation for any change in circumstance.

A meter reader at a well-known energy company was taking a reading at a customer’s property when they were assaulted and locked in the cupboard by the resident. The user raised an alarm on their device, which was received by an expert Alarm Controller. The user then advised that she was ok but felt unsafe and required police assistance. The Controller gained further information about the situation and passed on the details to the police, including the GPS location and details about the user from her Peoplesafe Portal profile. The police attended the address and were able to diffuse the situation, getting the user to safety. During the call, the controller contacted the user’s escalation contacts and informed them of the situation, following the procedure defined on the user’s profile.  

A ticket enforcement officer was working patrolling a local car park when three members of the public became aggressive towards him. At first, they were shouting verbal abuse at the ticket officer, but they soon turned violent and began physically attacking him. The ticket enforcement officer could not get away from the attackers so activated an SOS alarm to the Peoplesafe ARC.

The Controller began monitoring the call, at which time the user stated that they were bleeding and needed help. As urgent help was required, the Controller wasted no time in contacting the police via the URN, bypassing the 999 system and saving valuable time. In the background the Controller continued to monitor the severity of the situation and followed the user’s escalation procedure, alerting his manager to the situation. The police arrived within 6 minutes of the SOS button being pressed and took over handling the incident.

An NHS mental health nurse was working in a GP surgery reception when a member of the public entered the surgery and stabbed him. The user needed urgent assistance, so activated his device. The alarm was instantly received by the Peoplesafe ARC and the user explained that he had been stabbed and that the perpetrator was still on scene. The Controller confirmed the user’s location and immediately contacted an ambulance, they then used the URN to contact the local police force. The controller stayed on the line with the user until help arrived, providing reassurance, and updating him on the location of the ambulance. In the meantime, another ARC Controller followed the user’s escalation instructions and alerted his line manager of the situation. Within 4 minutes both the police and ambulance were on scene to provide help and handle the incident.