de-escalation – Page 5

Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security

[ Read articles in the SemperVerus category of Church Security ]

Among the ways of being prepared for unexpected self-defense or church security situations is to intentionally engage your mind to think about possible dangerous scenarios you could encounter and the ways in which you’d respond to them.

[ Read articles in the SemperVerus category of Situational Awareness ]

To help you conduct these mental exercises in a “gaming” fashion, SemperVerus has created the chart below listing at least 36 character personas that could be motivating factors in threatening crises. They represent the spectrum from seemingly minor incidents to major violent acts perpetrated by either males or females: from a “lone wolf” (a single bad actor) to a “wolf pack” (a gang with malevolent intentions); from rational to irrational behavior; from opportunistic to premeditated; from vandalism to synchronized active killers.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Components of a Strong Mindset for the Legally Armed Citizen ]

Regularly think through each persona and plan for your own actions in meeting them head-on. For example, what would be your first move if a lone and crazed person accosted you on the street? What would you do if, during your volunteer shift on church security, a coordinated attack of active killers (high on the synthetic stimulant Captagon like these terrorists) simultaneously entered your church through two wings of the building? Plan now to be prepared!

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

Lessons in Situational Awareness from Columbo

Columbo was an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The show aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 and on ABC from 1989 to 2003.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of Situational Awareness ]

In the series, Columbo is a seemingly every-day homicide detective who wears a rumpled beige raincoat and projects a casual, polite, warm, charming, respectful, humble, deferential, patient, soft-spoken, and unassuming demeanor, all of which are a disguise for extremely shrewd and intelligent situational awareness. He often leaves a room only to return with the catchphrase, “Just one more thing” to ask a critical question.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

Along with another keenly observant detective—Sherlock Holmes—Columbo embodies an innate, probing, and continuous curiosity about his surroundings. He is an excellent model for us to emulate in how to be unceasingly alert when we are in public.

Biblical Lessons to Learn De-Escalating Skills

You’ll always prevail against a threat if you’re able to avoid the threat. Proper execution of situational awareness positions you to be aware of warning signs in advance of perilous occurrences, which in turn allows you to maintain enough physical distance as much as possible to stay in control of the outcomes. In his ancient book, The Art of War, late 6th century BC Chinese general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher Sun Tzu wrote, “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of being Aware ]

Practicing situational awareness applies to the verbal confrontations you might face as much as to the physical surroundings you encounter every day. The oral skill-set required to keep a heated argument from becoming a deadly altercation is known as de-escalation. It involves knowing what to say and not say, when to say it, and how to say it. That means the coordinated use of our brains and tongues can be just as important in our self-defense strategy as performing defensive shooting drills at the range. An excellent article on the subject is “The Truth About De-Escalation” by John Bostain, president of Command Presence Training, published in Michigan Police Chiefs.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of spiritual fitness ]

The world’s most influential book, the Bible, has plenty to say about the words that come out of our mouths. Consider the following Scripture verses as a framework to help you in building your de-escalation mindset.

▶ Death and life are in the power of the tongue…. Proverbs 18:21

▶ Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. James 1:19

▶ Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 29:20

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

▶ Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:27

▶ Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 13:3

[ Read the SemperVerus article, on Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]