Off-Duty Law Enforcement Can be a Great Resource
As today’s economy continues to impact the health-care industry, many organizations are looking to off-duty law enforcement officers to supplement their existing security force for a variety of reasons. In doing so, they must be mindful of the challenges and the inherent risks that accompany such a decision. 
Health-care security is distinct from many other security industries, in part by the number of regulations and standards that are applied, particularly regarding patient interactions. If off-duty law enforcement personnel are not properly educated on their role in safe and appropriate health-care interventions, their actions can draw unwanted scrutiny and have a potentially disastrous impact upon a health-care facility.
So should health-care facilities completely abandon the concept of using off-duty law enforcement to augment their security programs? Not at all. These officers can provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to a health-care security department. Creating and maintaining these associations can strengthen relationships between a hospital’s personnel and local police.
However, such programs must include an educational component to ensure compliance with CMS regulatory requirements. Otherwise, these relationships could be undermin
ed by just one adverse event.
CMS Guiding Principles
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services surveyors consider the following guidelines to determine if a facility is placing a patient at risk:
- Only one individual needs to be at risk
- Serious harm, injury, impairment or death does not have to occur before considering there to be immediate jeopardy
- Serious harm can result from both abuse and neglect (psychological harm is viewed equally as seriously as physical harm)
- Any high potential for such to occur in the very near future also constitutes a violation
- Individuals must not be subjected to abuse by anyone including, but not limited to, facility staff, consultants or volunteers, family members or visitors
Accredited Certification Programs Can Help
Off-duty law enforcement officers and security departments can benefit from certification through an accredited de-escalation or crisis intervention program. The Management of Aggressive Behavior (M.O.A.B) course or Crisis Prevention Institute’s Non-Violent Crisis Intervention program are two examples of this type of training. Such techniques are invaluable when dealing with emotionally charged situations and distressed individuals who end up in emergency departments following an incident.
These programs will also strengthen a security department’s use of force guidelines by providing proven alternatives to hands-on techniques whenever practical — the less hands on, the less the risk to patient safety. Initial certification and annual refreshers are typically required to maintain a program’s effectiveness. Whenever possible, training should be conducted in concert with medical personnel so that everyone on the patient’s care team is knowledgeable, not only about their roles should violent behavior occur, but also the techniques to prevent or mitigate such occurrences.
Signs and symptoms of psychological distress is another topic that should be considered for off-duty law enforcement education. Materials should include pertinent information collected from a facility’s behavioral health professionals or by using an existing course (such as the Backup Training Corp.’s “Emotionally Disturbed Persons: A Challenge for Law Enforcement” program).
Bryan Warren, CHPA, CPO-I, is the interim director of corporate security at Carolinas Healthcare System. He can be reached at [email protected].
