User Stories: Verbal Abuse

A hotel receptionist activated their alarm as there was an incident occurring between two guests in the hotel car park. One guest was punching a car in the car park, while another guest was being verbally abusive to the receptionist. While the incident was occurring the receptionist discreetly activated their alarm, which was received by the Peoplesafe Alarm Controller. The receptionist immediately began talking to the controller as the guest had escalated from shouting to becoming physically aggressive, going inside and removing the fire extinguisher from the hotel lobby to use as a weapon. As the situation was escalating, the alarm controller contacted the police directly, getting the fastest response possible.

The Alarm Controller continued to monitor the situation as the guest took the fire extinguisher outside and began hitting another guest’s car with it, staying online with the receptionist to provide reassurance and kept the emergency services informed of the situation. In the background, the controller also contacted the Hotel Manager, as they were the main escalation contact. The Hotel Manager attended the scene alongside the receptionist to provide assistance. The police arrived within minutes and were then able to take over handling the situation.

A hotel concierge at a national chain of hotels was working a night shift when a guest started to act aggressively. The guest first started to act aggressively towards their girlfriend and when the concierge attempted to diffuse the situation, the guest turned on them and began acting aggressively. The concierge discreetly activated their alarm and the specialist alarm receiving controller began to silently monitor the situation.

When the guest became even more aggressive, the ARC Controller called the police directly (bypassing 999) and they were on the scene in 3 minutes to provide protection and deal directly with the offender. During this time, the alarm receiving controller remained on the line to monitor the situation and inform the hotel manager of the situation, following the detailed escalation plan. As soon as the police arrived, the ARC controller checked in with the concierge and assured them the escalation procedure had been followed and ended the call.

An NHS carer was visiting the property of a patient when she was trapped inside and not allowed to leave. The patient was bleeding due to unknown causes, so the nurse was working on the patient trying to find the source of the problem. The patient’s wife then became verbally abusive to the carer, shouting at and intimidating her. The carer felt unsafe, so she discreetly activated an alarm to the ARC.  

The Alarm Controller listened silently for 10 seconds to assess the situation and then accessed the voice memo’s that the user had left on her device. This memo detailed the specific flat she was visiting, which was also backed up by the GPS coordinates of the device. The NHS Carer then informed the Alarm Controller that the patient’s wife was blocking the exit, so the controller contacted the police. 

While the police were on their way, the Alarm Controller followed the escalation procedure on the user’s profile, alerting her manager of the situation. During the length of the alarm, the Alarm Controller kept the NHS Carer informed on the whereabouts of the police and provided constant reassurance until the police arrived to take control of the situation and allow them to leave.  

A social worker was visiting a client’s home to carry out a routine visit when their neighbour became verbally abusive. The user tried to de-escalate the situation but was beginning to feel unsafe, so discreetly raised an alarm to the ARC to provide peace of mind while not escalating the situation.

The Controller could hear the commotion in the background, so called the user on their mobile phone using the details on their user profile. Once through to the user, the Controller gathered more information about the situation and contacted the police on behalf of the user, passing over information from the Peoplesafe Portal, including the user’s precise location, description, and risk profile. The police arrived on the scene within 10 minutes and were able to take over handling the aggressor.