Dealing with Violence,Aggression and Unreasonable...

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Transcript of Dealing with Violence,Aggression and Unreasonable...

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Dealing with Violence,Aggression and Unreasonable Behaviour

DRAFT – May 2013

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Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 General Points to note ............................................................................................................. 3 Verbal abuse or threat of physical attack ................................................................................. 3 Customers intoxicated – drugs or alcohol ............................................................................... 3 Threats in reception/interview room ........................................................................................ 4

Threats or verbal abuse on the Telephone ............................................................................... 4 External Appointments ............................................................................................................ 5 Threats inside a customer’s home or on site ............................................................................ 5

Threats at an internal or external event .................................................................................... 6 Actual Physical Assault ........................................................................................................... 7 Recording the Incident ............................................................................................................. 8 Managers’ Responsibility ........................................................................................................ 8

The Role of the Manager or Supervisor .................................................................................. 9 Appendix A – Incident Form .......................................................................................................... 10 Appendix B Unreasonable Behaviour Policy ................................................................................ 12 Appendix D Potentially Violent Persons Policy ............................................................................ 15

Guidance and Procedures ...................................................................................................... 15 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 15

2. Criteria for making entries to the register and sanctions available .............................. 16

3. Reporting Procedure .................................................................................................... 17

4. Notification to individual ............................................................................................. 18 5. Exemptions .................................................................................................................. 19 6. Appeals ........................................................................................................................ 19

7. Access to Register ........................................................................................................ 19 8. Review of Information ................................................................................................. 20

Appendix E - Flow Charts .............................................................................................................. 22 Visiting a Customer in their home ................................................................................................. 22 Threats or Verbal Abuse on the Telephone ................................................................................... 22 Verbal Abuse or Physical Attack ................................................................................................... 23

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Introduction Any officer may face the threat of and/or verbal abuse or an actual physical attack at any enquiry point within the authority. This document provides guidance and details the procedures to follow when an officer is faced with this situation. The best way to handle a violent situation is to prevent it happening. Although it cannot always be anticipated, officers should look for the warning signs. Specific Violence and Aggression training is available within the authority to help officers to develop their awareness of the potential for threats and violence, identify possible triggers and learn protection techniques. All officers who are in a position where they meet customers face to face need to attend this course and attendance should be arranged via their manager. General Points to note When going in and out of a reception area, make sure all doors are shut securely behind you. Do not let customers tail gate you through doors if someone follows you, check they have their security pass on. If they don’t challenge them. Never leave any doors open to secure areas. Before you use an interview room have regard to the nature of the enquiry, who you are interviewing and whether you feel at risk. Check the Potentially Violent Person (PVP) Register before the interview. If you are unsure speak to your manager. Always inform another member of staff that you are using the room. It is important to note that no member of staff should be abusive or use bad language in response to a customer’s behaviour. Always ensure that you are familiar with these procedures and the location of panic buttons before you attend the customer services areas. Verbal abuse or threat of physical attack If officers receive verbal abuse from or are threatened with violence by a member of the public, they should act as follows:-

Speak quietly and calmly.

Identify the problem and try to understand the individual’s viewpoint.

Exercise patience and diffuse any high emotion.

Be confident.

Be polite and endeavour to extract the information required.

Rely on their gut feeling as whether they feel it’s safe and appropriate to continue with the enquiry.

Customers intoxicated – drugs or alcohol

When dealing with a customer who is identifiably under the influence of drugs or alcohol the officer should advise the customer that the officer will be unable to deal with them in their condition and that they need to return another day sober or clean of drugs. If the customer gets agitated or aggressive the officer needs to get themselves to a safe place and follow the procedure for threats in reception/interview room.

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If the officer suspects that the customer is under the influence of drugs or alcohol the officer should ask the customer if they have been drinking or taken any substance because their behaviour is a little erratic or odd. If the customer denies that they have taken anything, the officer will either enter information on the system or advise the officer over the telephone or face to face that they suspect this person is intoxicated but the customer denies being under the influence. The officer dealing with the customer can then make arrangements for additional security.

Threats in reception/interview room

Where threats are made against officers, either in the Council’s reception area or in an interview room, officers should act as follows when threatened:

If you feel safe to do so, tell the individual politely that you no longer wish to conduct the enquiry and get away from the customer into one of the secure areas. Using your judgement, decide if there is a serious threat of damage or injury to you, other officers or to other persons in the immediate area. If there is a serious threat, call 999 immediately. In all instances, call the custodians, the Facilities manager, the Health & Safety Advisor and your manager/supervisor.

If you feel threatened and feel the situation will escalate if you tell the customer you cannot deal with them, then advise the customer you need to go and speak to someone else for advice. You need to get away from the customer into one of the secure areas and call 999 immediately. You then need to call the custodians, the Facilities manager , the Health & Safety Advisor and your manager/supervisor.

If any member of staff is worried about staff or customer safety, they need to take ownership of the situation and ring the Police on 999.

Reception staff can activate the panic alarm if they feel that releasing it may defuse the situation. All staff should make sure they know where it is and how to release and reset it (training will be given).

For Customer Service staff – when the panic alarm is set off or you hear customers shouting/being aggressive, ring 999 immediately, then call the custodians, the Facilities manager, the Health & Safety Advisor and your manager/supervisor.

If you feel there is the potential for a customer to become aggressive and the Police have not yet been notified, the Manager or Supervisor will assess whether Police involvement is required.

The custodians, Facilities Manager, Health & Safety Advisor, Manager or Supervisor will remain in reception until the police arrive. They will review the situation and if the situation is considered dangerous, they may ask customers and staff to leave the reception area through any exit available.

Threats or verbal abuse on the Telephone Officers speak to many of the Council’s customers on the telephone and most of these contacts will be straightforward. However, where officers are threatened or verbally abused by telephone customers, they should act as follows:

Tell the individual politely that you will terminate the call if their behaviour continues.

If the behaviour continues, terminate the call.

Refer to your supervisor or manager.

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The supervisor or manager will notify the rest of the team that if the customer calls again, they are to transfer the call through to them.

If the caller rings again, get the supervisor or manager to speak to them.

Supervisors & managers will take the call and take appropriate action External Appointments

It is fully recognised that staff who make visits to members of the public outside of the office, or are required to attend courts/tribunals, are vulnerable to abusive or threatening behaviour, and/or physical attack. Services must have their own specific codes of conduct which must be followed when dealing with external appointments as well as procedures to ensure staff are safe by using agreed emergency contact arrangements. Please see your manager for a copy of the code that is relevant to your Service.

It is essential that those members of staff who make visits familiarise themselves with these procedures and follow these important guidelines:-

Officers should ensure that they:-

Have an adequately charged mobile phone with them on each visit.

Maintain telephone contact whilst on duty.

Carry a personal alarm for additional security if they feel vulnerable

Notify someone of their expected time of return and any change to this time Check the PVP register before the time of the visit and where a potential situation is identified, arrange to visit with a colleague or to meet the individual at the Council offices.

If you are visiting out of normal office hours, you must ensure that you are aware of the Emergency Out of Hours protocol for your service. Each employee of the Council has an identity/access card. An identity card must be carried by all employees at all times and must be shown to customers before being invited into their homes. Threats inside a customer’s home or on site

If the customer does become threatening or violent while you are visiting a customer’s home or are on site, you should follow these guidelines:-

Avoid placing yourself in a vulnerable position.

Never enter a property without being invited inside

Always face the customer - never turn your back on them

Always follow the customer in. Do not let the customer lock the door behind you.

Withdraw from the scene, by facing the customer and moving backwards slowly. If this cannot be done, turn and move quickly away.

Always avoid letting the customer get between you and the door.

If you are on site, survey the area and plan your escape route

If the customer does become threatening or violent, be confident and polite and explain that you will call back again when it is more convenient.

Try and exit the property or site as soon as possible. If this cannot be achieved, it is essential to try and relax the customer by continuing to talk and try and reassure the customer that all is well.

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You must remain firm and confident. A violent customer will sense anxiety and fear of violence in you and may react violently. Similarly, an overbearing approach can lead to violence.

Try and telephone the office or out of hours contact. If possible let the officer know where you are and the circumstances. If the customer objects to you telephoning and you are in need of police assistance explain to the customer that your office are expecting you to call and will raise the alarm if you do not. If possible call and use an “alert phrase”.

Your contact will need to decide whether to contact the Police immediately and advise the Police of the name & address of the customer plus any details. When the Police arrive, try and leave the building and retreat to safety. The Police may require a statement of the incident and you should remain in the vicinity. Alternatively, contact the Police yourself and then advise your contact.

The officer who received the threat, must complete an Incident Report form and hand it to their manager. The name and address of the individual, together with the nature of the incident will be detailed on an Incident Report Form and a copy filed within your service, with the original being passed to the Council’s Health & Safety Advisor. The incident may trigger the Unreasonable Behaviour policy and the addition of the customer’s details to the PVP Register. Threats at an internal or external event

If a customer becomes threatening or violent while you are working on an event, you should follow these guidelines:-

Recognize the potential for violence and takes steps to resolve it early on. Take positive action (e.g. contact a Duty Manager or Security if you suspect a member of the public might cause problems).

If the customer becomes threatening or violent, be polite and try and resolve the situation.

You must remain firm and confident. A violent customer will sense anxiety and fear of violence in you and may react violently. Similarly, an overbearing approach can lead to violence.

Avoid placing yourself in a vulnerable position.

Where possible try and remain in view of a CCTV camera so any incident is recorded.

Always face the customer - never turn your back on them

If you feel threatened withdraw from the scene, by facing the customer and moving backwards slowly. If this cannot be done, turn and move quickly away.

Wherever you are survey the area and plan your escape route

Try and attract a colleagues/securities attention. If this cannot be achieved, it is essential to try and relax the customer by continuing to talk and try and reassure the customer that all is well.

Do not keep large quantities of cash in view of the public, if you accumulate a quantity of cash, place it into a safe/lock it away (with a label so that it is identifiable), it will be banked at a later date.

Support colleagues and offer assistance if necessary and safe to do so.

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Do not accept incidents of violence directed toward you or others. Always report any instances of violence, threats or abuse the Duty Manager or your Line Manager.

The Duty Manager or Security will need to decide whether to contact the Police immediately and provide all the information to the Police for investigation/action. When the Police arrive, try and leave the building and retreat to safety. The Police may require a statement of the incident and you should remain in the vicinity. Alternatively, contact the Police yourself and then advise your contact.

The officer who received the threat, must complete an Incident Report form and hand it to their manager. Where possible the name and address of the individual, together with the nature of the incident should be detailed on an Incident Report Form and a copy filed within your service, with the original being passed to the Council’s Health & Safety Advisor. The incident may trigger the Unreasonable Behaviour policy and the addition of the customer’s details to the PVP Register. Actual Physical Assault If you are subject to a physical assault you must:

Withdraw to safety and obtain help.

Seek appropriate first aid or medical attention. (See authority first aider list)

If necessary call a doctor, ambulance or seek hospital treatment immediately. As soon as practicable, staff who suffer shock or injury as a result of an assault should consult a doctor and obtain a medical report on injuries as medical evidence may be required later. Report the incident to your line manager as soon as possible. The officer should make a note of the details of the assailant (e.g., name/description etc.) and complete an Incident Report form. This should be passed to his/her manager as soon as possible.

Notify the Police immediately in order that they can be called to the scene to interview those concerned, and if necessary arrest the assailant. In certain circumstances, you may not wish the Police to be informed and although your wishes may be taken into account, the Council has a responsibility to protect all staff and in the event of serious offences, the Police may have to be informed. In all cases you clearly have the right to report the matter personally to the Police. Where the Police are not called to an incident,the manager should make a note of the names/address of any witnesses, and any other information regarding the incident. If an implement is used in the assault on the officer, it should be retained, provided this can be done without causing further difficulty. An Accident Report form should be completed and the incident properly recorded in the Accident Book held by the Manager.

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You should remember not to prejudice your position by admitting any liability. The Council will give you all the support you need in bringing about a prosecution and obtaining any compensation for injury. Recording the Incident In order to keep an up to date record of incidents of violence, a report form is available which all officers must complete as soon as possible after incidents whilst events are still fresh in their mind. A copy of the Incident Report Form is set out in Appendix A. A form must be completed for:

All significant injuries

All cases of work–related ill health to employees

All dangerous occurrences and other significant ‘near misses’

All incidents of physical assault to staff

Serious verbal assaults and threats

Road traffic accidents to staff whilst they are at work Please ensure you complete the Incident Report Form within 24 hours of the incident and hand to your manager or supervisor. Your manager will scan and send a copy to the Health and Safety Advisor. Records of incidents should be kept for at least 3 years. It is intended that these reports will enable the Council to pinpoint to a greater extent, areas of high risk, to identify new areas and changes in public behaviour locally. Where an injury is sustained it will probably be necessary to report the matter to the Police. If you do report it, you must notify your supervisor, who will inform Legal Services and the Council’s Health & Safety Advisor. Managers’ Responsibility Managers have the responsibility for ensuring the safety of their team and should take action on incidents. The manager will review the incident:-

To identify both the immediate and underlying causes (there is rarely a single cause)

To learn from mistakes and put in place measures to prevent a recurrence

To reappraise existing risk assessments

To review risk control measures and their effectiveness

To identify activities or jobs causing the greatest number of incidents

To satisfy legal accident reporting and recording duties

To satisfy the expectation of the public, who expect action following a serious incident

To obtain details which might be needed if the incident becomes subject to an insurance claim or legal action

In some cases, the Manager may need to write to the customer and advise them that their behaviour was unacceptable and that, if if they continue with this behaviour during their next contact with the Council’s officers,, apply the Council’s Unreasonable Behaviour Policy may be invoked which may result in a ban from the offices for a period of time or restricted contact method/officer. The Council’s Unreasonable Behaviour Policy is at

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Appendix B. The letter needs to be sent within 2 working days of the incident. See Appendix C for example letter. Note – some customers may not have a fixed abode and therefore communications cannot be sent. In this instance we will need to address the issue on their next visit to the offices. Potentially Violent Persons Policy If the incident related to a serious threat of or actual violence towards an officer, the Potentially Violent Persons Policy should be invoked and details of the incident passed through to the Regulatory Services Manager for consideration. In some cases, the customer will be added to the Council’s Potentially Violent Person register detailing the incident and what action has been taken. If the Regulatory Service Manager considers that the customer should be banned from the Council’s offices for a period of time, the request will be referred through to GLT for approval. Please see Appendix B for the Potentially Violent Person Register Policy and procedures The Role of the Manager or Supervisor

Managers are the liaison officers for handling all matters in connection with violence to staff. The Manager is responsible for the following:-

Receiving notification of incidents

Receiving Incident Report forms

Ensuring copies of the Incident Report forms are filed.

Ensuring staff have access where necessary to the Potentially Violent Persons

Register or information system.

Contacting the Police if the officer is unable to do so.

Contacting the Health & Safety Officer

Assessment of security.

Implementation of Procedures.

Liaise with HR to ensure officers receive the necessary training.

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Appendix A – Incident Form

GLOUCESTER CITY COUNCIL INCIDENT REPORT FORM Report of an injury, occupational ill health, dangerous occurrence, near miss, verbal

or physical assault at work This form should be completed by the line manager of the injured person.

If the incident occurred outside of the workplace the employee should complete the incident details.

Please complete this form within 3 days of the incident.

For serious incidents, telephone the Health and Safety Adviser (ext. 6381) and your Head of Service as soon as possible with details.

You should refer to the Council’s Guidelines on Accident Reporting when completing this form.

__________________________________________________________________________

Part A - About the injured person. Was the injured person (tick which applies)

Full name

Male/female? Age

Occupation and Service Unit:

Home address and postcode

Telephone number

A City Council Employee?

A member of the public?

A trainee or on a placement?

A Contractor?

An Agency Worker?

Did the injured person

Need to take time of work if so how much?

Did the injured person (tick which applies)

become unconscious? need resuscitation? go to hospital? remain in hospital for more than 24 hours?

Part B - About the incident. Part C - About the injury. On what date did the incident happen? At what time did the incident happen? (Please use 24 hour clock) Give the name and full address of where the incident took place, include details of any assailants: Where on the premises did the incident happen?

What was the injury? (e.g. fracture, cut,

bruise)

What part of the body was injured?

Was the injury (tick the one box that

applies)

a fatality? a major injury or condition? an ‘over three day’ injury? an injury to a member of the public which meant

that they had to be taken from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment?

an occupational disease?

Witnesses to the incident:

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Part D - Describe what happened.

Give as much detail as you can. For instance: the events leading up to the incident, what were you/the person doing, any machine or substance involved? If a member of public was involved, was their accident related to deficiencies in premises, equipment or work activities of the Council? Please include details of first aid treatment given.

Part E- Preventive action.

Your investigation should identify any action necessary to prevent a recurrence of this, or similar incidents. Most accidents are preventable, try to look beyond the immediate causes, at the underlying contributory factors involved.

Part F - Type of incident. Please tick the one box that best describes what happened.

Contact with moving machinery or material

Hit by a moving, flying or falling object

Struck by a moving vehicle

Struck against something fixed or stationery

Injured while handling, lifting or carrying

Slipped, tripped or fell on the same level

Fell from a height. How high was the fall?

(In metres)

Trapped by something collapsing / over

turning

a road traffic accident

Drowned or asphyxiated

Exposed to, or in contact with a harmful substance

Exposed to fire

Exposed to an explosion

Contact with electricity or an electrical

discharge

Injured by an animal

Physically or verbally assaulted by a person

Another kind of accident (describe in D

above)

Near miss

Part G - Dangerous occurrences. Part H - Person making the report.

Enter the number of the dangerous occurrence you are reporting (see the Appendix of the Council’s accident reporting guidelines for details)

Name of Person making the report. Please print.

Job title and telephone number.

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Appendix B Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

We provide a range of services to City residents, businesses and visitors and we are committed to dealing with all customers fairly and impartially and to providing high quality services.

As part of these high quality services we do not normally limit the contact customers have with the Council. However, we do not expect our staff to tolerate behaviour by customers which is, for example, abusive, offensive or threatening, or which because of the frequency of the contact, hinders our delivery of services and we will take action to manage such behaviour.

We will make every effort to ensure that our services are accessible to all of our customers. To achieve this outcome we will make reasonable adjustments to meet the individual and particular needs of anyone who contacts us.

When we consider that a customer’s behaviour is unreasonable we will tell them why we find their behaviour unreasonable and we will ask them to change it. If the unreasonable behaviour continues, we will take action to restrict the customer’s contact with the Council.

The decision to restrict access to the Council will only normally be taken after we have considered possible adjustments to our service which may help the customer to avoid unreasonable behaviour. The decision will be taken at Director level. Any restrictions imposed will be appropriate and proportionate. The options we are most likely to consider are:

requesting contact in a particular form (for example, letters only); requiring contact to take place with a named officer; restricting telephone calls to specified days and times; asking the customer to enter into an agreement about their future conduct; and/or asking the customer to contact us through an advocate.

In all cases we will write to tell the customer why we believe their behaviour is unreasonable, what action we are taking and the duration of that action. We will also tell them how they can challenge the decision if they disagree with it and we will consider any challenge under our complaints policy.

Where despite any adjustments we have made, a customer continues to behave in a way which is unreasonable, we may have to decide to terminate contact with that customer.

Where the behaviour is so extreme that it threatens the immediate safety and welfare of the Council’s staff or others, we will consider other options, for example, reporting the matter to the Police or taking legal action. In such cases, we may not give the customer prior warning of that action.

Where the behaviour involves the making of inappropriate or offensive comments about our Councillors or staff, for example, on newspaper or social media websites, we will report such instances to the site owners and seek removal of such comments from the public domain.

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Appendix C – Example Warning Letter

XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Gloucester XXXXXXXXXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX Officer: Unit: Ref: Page: of

Warning re Incident during visit to Council offices/home or site visit Gloucester City Council is not prepared to tolerate unreasonable or threatening behaviour towards Council staff. During your visit to Herbert reception on XX/XX/XXXX you were verbally abusive and threatening to one of the Council’s officers and this incident was witnessed by several staff members and customers. Please be aware that any further incidents of unreasonable behaviour, aggression or abuse will result in the Council’s Unreasonable Behaviour policy being invoked which may result in your contact with the Council being restricted and/or your access to the Council’s buildings and services being restricted. We hope the above will not be necessary and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Yours sincerely Wendy Jones Customer services Manager

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XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Gloucester XXXXXXXXXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX Officer: Unit: Ref: Page: of

Action Follow Incident during visit to Council offices/home or site visit/Event Gloucester City Council will not tolerate unreasonable or threatening behaviour towards Council staff. During your visit to XXXXXX on XX/XX/XXXX you were physically violent to one of the Council’s officers and this incident was witnessed by several staff members and customers. You were seen to be holding the officer by the throat in an unprovoked attack and the police were called. Please be aware that we have interviewed the staff, reviewed the CCTV footage and incident reports and consider this type of behaviour unacceptable. We are not prepared to put our staff at risk of a further incident. We have therefore initiated our Unreasonable Behaviour Policy and are restricting your contact with the Council and access to the Council’s buildings. For a period of 12 months from the date of this letter any contact to this authority must be through a third party or intermediary. If you attempt to contact an officer the call will be aborted and if you enter the building we will have no option but to contact the police to have you removed. Your details will be held on our Potentially Violent Persons register for this 12 month period where details of this ban will be disclosed to Council employees and contractors acting on behalf of the Council who may have contact with you. If you would like to make a representation/appeal against this action you must contact me the Regulatory Services Manager within 14 days giving details of why the entry should be removed or an explanation of the incident to be included in the entry. If a representation/appeal is made, your case will be discussed with the Head of Legal Services for a final decision. We will notify you of the final decision within 14 days. If the entry is to remain within the register a copy of the information held will be sent to you. Yours sincerely Regulatory Services Manager

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Appendix D Potentially Violent Persons Policy

Guidance and Procedures 1. Introduction 2. Criteria for making entries to the register and sanctions available 3. Reporting procedure 4. Notification to individual 5. Exemptions 6. Appeals 7. Access to the register 8. Review of information 9. Appendix A - Staff Safety Register Report Forms 1. Introduction 1.1 The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 imposes a duty on employers to

ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.

1.2 It is recognised that for frontline officers dealing with members of the community

both in and away from Council Offices there will be times when they are faced with people who may pose a risk to their health and safety. It is also recognised that particular premises may pose a risk through other factors such as the presence of dogs or physical features such as dangerous and dilapidated entrance steps. Recording details of hazards on a register means the risk to those officers can be reduced by forewarning them. This allows them to take appropriate additional steps to protect their health and safety.

1.3 The purpose of the Potentially Violent Persons Register (PVPR) is to provide a

controlled source of information. The use of such registers is controlled under the Data Protection Act 1998 and guidance on data protection is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office Data Protection Act 1998 - Guidance and Advice for

Organisations - ICO 1.4 The Act allows the processing of data where it is necessary for compliance with any

legal obligation to which the data controller is subject. Further conditions must be satisfied where sensitive personal data (ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal offences and convictions) is processed. The processing of sensitive personal data included in the Register is allowed by the legal obligation imposed by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, provided it is necessary to protect the safety of employees.

1.5 This policy sets out the procedures to be followed for the PVPR, including

responsibility for the operation of the system and training staff in its use and the reporting of incidents, retention of data, review of data, access to the register and security of data and disclosure of information.

1.6 The register will be maintained at a corporate level by the Regulatory Services

Manager. 1.7 All employees have a responsibility to protect their own health and safety and that

of others who may be affected by their actions at work. They must follow any safe

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system of work and safe procedures put into place by their employers, including checking the PVPR prior to making visits or meeting members of the public face-to-face on Council premises to find out whether any additional safety precautions are required.

2. Criteria for making entries to the register and sanctions available 2.1 The types of incident, behaviour or physical characteristics of the premises which

may give rise to inclusion on the register are set out below. This can include information received from other organisations which meet these criteria. Whilst this list is not exhaustive, and there may be other incidents/characteristics that give rise to inclusion on the register, it should be used as a guide to whether or not details should be entered. The register is not intended to record persons who may have expressed anger whilst dealing with officers but should be reserved for those cases where a threat has been perceived by the officer.

Physical assault

Verbal threats of a serious nature

Other verbal abuse

Sexual and/or racial harassment

Other emotional abuse

Violent behaviour resulting in damage to property (own or other)

Violent behaviour resulting in damage to self

Information received from other organisations regarding the behaviour or mental state of an individual giving rise to concerns for the safety of staff

Presence on the premises of any animals that are perceived to be dangerous

Physical characteristics of the premises that may pose a risk 2.2 The decision as to whether sanctions are imposed rests with the Regulatory

Services Manager in consultation with GLT. No other officer is empowered to determine whether sanctions will be imposed nor to correspond with the individual concerned to notify them that sanctions are being imposed.

2.3 Sanctions will be time limited and may involve one or a combination of the

following:

A withdrawal of service;

A request for behaviour restraint;

A ban from specified council premises;

A ban from all council premises;

A court injunction; or

An Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO)

Interviews by appointment only. 2.4 Safety precautions may include:

Site/home visiting in pairs only;

Only male officers to site/home visit;

Only female officers to site/home visit;

Daylight site/home visits only;

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Site/home visits only accompanied by police;

Officer interviews only; or

Officer interviews in pairs only. 3. Reporting Procedure 3.1 An officer who has been involved in an incident or becomes aware of information

regarding an individual or hazard which indicates a possible risk to staff must complete an incident report form as soon as possible and in any case within 2 working days. The report should include any known circumstances which could have contributed to the individual’s behaviour, e.g. some particular stress or illness.

3.2 One copy of the report must be forwarded to the line manager who may consider

the nature of the incident should be reviewed by the Regulatory Service Manager for consideration/inclusion in the PVPR; a copy of all reports should be forwarded to the Health and Safety Officer for recording purposes.

The Line Manager should ensure that all relevant information relating to an incident

and how it was dealt with is brought together so that a comprehensive record is available. This will assist the Regulatory Services Manager to determine whether an immediate entry on the Register is justified without notification to the individual concerned. This should be completed within 5 working days of receipt of an incident report.

3.3 The Line Manager must discuss the report with the officer, and consider what, if

any, further action is necessary, e.g.:

Brief team

Revise internal procedures

Analysis of training needs

Additional support for officer Managers can also suggest appropriate sanctions for the Regulatory Services

Manager to consider. 3.4 Where the officer concerned is not able to make a report due to subsequent

absence from work the Line Manager must immediately report the matter to the Regulatory Services Manager.

3.5 Where an incident may not in itself be deemed sufficiently serious to warrant

inclusion in the Register, if there have been a number of incidents involving the same individual this pattern of behaviour may be taken into account when determining whether an entry should be made in the Register. This information will be correlated from the Officer/s or Line Manager.

3.6 Where an individual is included in the Register, any future contacts need to be

logged and reported to the Regulatory Services Manager on a 6 monthly interval, whether or not there are further incidents. This information will be used to inform the review held after 12 months to determine whether the entry on the Register should be removed or retained for a further period.

3.7 Individuals should not be identified as being violent, threatening or abusive on any

other manual or computer filing system to which employees who do not need to

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know this information have access. However, it may be considered appropriate by the Regulatory Services Manager that a flag is placed on certain core systems where it is not practicable for officers to view the database before seeing a customer e.g. the CRM. The addition of any flag will be authorised and co-ordinated through the Regulatory Services Manager and must not be added by any other individual unless so authorised.

3.8 Any entry will be made on the Register immediately where:

There has been an assault or violent behaviour resulting in damage;

Information has been received from another organisation which indicates a serious risk;

There is deemed to be a risk in visiting premises due to the presence of a dangerous animal or the condition of the premises.

Once the report has been considered by the Regulatory Services Manager this

entry will be retained, amended or deleted as determined by the Regulatory Services Manager.

3.9 The Regulatory Services Manager will consider any reports received and make a

decision on:

Whether or not an entry should be made on the Register;

Whether any sanctions should be imposed; and

What safety precautions should be taken. All relevant Directors and Service Managers whose services would be affected by

the imposition of sanctions and safety precautions will be consulted prior to a decision being made on these issues.

3.10 The Regulatory Services Manager will notify the reporting employee and their

Manager whether or not an entry has been made on the Register and of the outcome of any representations made by the individual concerned.

3.11 In the event of the Regulatory Services Manager not being available for an

extended period of time, then GLT will consider and make decisions in their absence.

4. Notification to individual 4.1 Where the Regulatory Services Manager is of the opinion that an entry should

be made on the Register, unless an exemption to this requirement applies, the individual will be notified of his/her inclusion on the Register. The notification will include:

An explanation of the purpose of the Register;

The implications of inclusion on the register for the individual; and

That the entry may be disclosed to Council employees and to contractors acting on behalf of the Council who may have contact with the individual.

4.2 The individual will be given an opportunity to make representations to the

Regulatory Services Manager within 14 days, as to why the entry should be

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removed from the Register, or to give an explanation of the incident to be included in the entry.

4.3 The individual concerned will be notified of the final decision made by the

Regulatory Services Manager and given a copy of the entry if one has been made on the Register.

5. Exemptions 5.1 Notification of the individual is not required if an exemption can be applied. 5.2 An exemption under section 29(1) of the Data Protection Act can be applied for the

purposes of the:

Prevention or detection of crime

The apprehension or prosecution of offenders This exemption may be applied where the Council believes that the prevention or

detection of a crime may be significantly prejudiced if the individual is made aware of the fact that information is recorded about them in the PVPR. The application of the exemption, therefore, renders notification to the individual unnecessary for as long as the exemption is applied. It also permits the Council to deny the individual his/her right of access to personal information held for staff health and safety purposes.

5.3 An exemption under section 31(2)(e) of the Act can be applied for the purpose of

securing the health and safety and welfare of persons at work. This exemption may be applied where the Council believes that the safety of staff

may be significantly prejudiced if the individual is made aware that there is information recorded about them in the PVPR. The application of the exemption, therefore, renders notification to the individual unnecessary for as long as the exemption is applied. It also permits the Council to deny the individual his/her right of access to personal information held for staff safety purposes.

5.4 The Regulatory Services Manager and originating Manager, in consultation with the

Legal Services, will consider whether or not an exemption should be applied. 6. Appeals 6.1 Individuals will have a right of appeal which shall be explained in the Notification

letter. The Head of Legal services will consider any representation and determine the outcome.

7. Access to Register 7.1 Authorised employees may access the Register only as necessary in the course of

their work and must not disclose information contained therein to unauthorised persons. Any unauthorised disclosure may result in disciplinary action.

7.2 Service Managers will ensure that access to the information held on the Register

will be on a ‘need to know’ only basis and will be restricted to:

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Council officers required to visit individuals in their own homes or their business premises;

Council officers that deal directly with customers/clients when they visit Council premises;

Contractors employed by the Council who are required to visit premises where there is an entry in the Register, relating either to the premises or to an individual at those premises;

Managers who are responsible for any of the above. 7.3 Access will be requested by the employee’s Manager and forwarded to the

Customer Services Manager who will arrange access. Customer Services also must be notified when any employee who has access to the Register either leaves the Council or no longer needs access to the Register for any other reason.

7.4 The Register must be checked for entries prior to:

A visit being made to an address which is included on the Register by a Council Officer or contractor;

A face-to-face meeting with an individual included on the Register on Council premises (except in the case of Reception and where this is not practicable. See 3.7 above)

7.5 A contractor who is required to visit an address where either an occupant or the

premises has been included on the Register should be given sufficient information to enable appropriate precautions to be taken to ensure the safety of the contractor and his/her employees. The contractor and his/her employees must not disclose the information or use the information for any other purposes.

7.6 Contractors to whom information held on the Register is to be disclosed must have

sufficient security procedures to prevent unlawful or accidental disclosure. There should be a written agreement, or contract terms, that information disclosed to the contractor or his/her employees will be used only for the purpose of carrying out work for the Council and will not be disclosed to anyone who is not entitled to see it.

7.7 Disclosure of information about entries on the Register to other Agencies is allowed

on a case by case basis but only where failure to make the disclosure would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. Any disclosures made must be notified to the Regulatory Services Manager, who will keep a central record.

8. Review of Information 8.1 The 5th data protection principle requires that personal data shall not be kept for

longer than necessary. Entries will therefore be reviewed after a period of 12 months to determine whether they should be retained or deleted from the Register.

8.2 To assist in this review process, all visits to premises or contact with persons on the

Register must be notified to the Regulatory Services Manager so that the situation can be monitored.

8.3 If visits have been recorded within the 12 months preceding the review where no

incident or perceived threat is evident the entry will be removed from the Register unless in the opinion of the Regulatory Services Manager and the relevant Group

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Manager the incident/information leading to inclusion on the Register was so serious as to warrant it being retained for a further period.

8.4 If no visits have been made and/or there has been no contact with the person within

the 12 months preceding the review, the entry will remain on the Register for a further 12 months, at which time it will be reviewed again.

8.5 If an amendment to, or deletion of, an entry is necessary (e.g. because a potentially

violent person moved to another address within the district or away from the district) the Regulatory Services Manager must be notified.

8.6 Sanctions will be time limited and will be reviewed accordingly. 8.7 Individuals who are considered to no longer represent a threat to staff safety will be

removed from the Register and notified accordingly.

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Appendix E - Flow Charts

Visiting a Customer in their home

Threats or Verbal Abuse on the Telephone

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Verbal Abuse or Physical Attack