How can management assist against attacks on emergency services members?

How can management assist against attacks on emergency services members?

Management receive complaints daily from their staff of the dangerous conditions that members need to work in. Fire fighters and medical staff (government, municipalities or private entities) are all afraid of being part of crime related incident.

This results in member refusing to work in certain areas, which will hold back service delivery to the community in need of assistance.

On many occasions I have asked the question, “When will South Africa’s different emergency management members start to realise that South Africa is becoming the capital world for crime?”

I have also indicated that police officials, traffic officials, security officials, ambulance services and fire departments are all being targeted by the very same industry we try to serve and protect.

Maybe it is time to issue each emergency worker with a body cam that is linked to a control room system?

I personally think that no training will be able to protect you against these types of attacks because we are narrow minded, meaning that we focus purely on the patient or victim we assist and we do not focus on the overall environment. These types of attacks are fast and are performed at a maximum force and most of the time a member will ‘freeze up’ or ‘overreact’ involving being a victim.

Do we have a solution for this and the answer will always be ‘yes’? If you follow a long-term training programme that promote a good fighting fitness programme (not gym), basic fighting methods, understanding how to defuse and stay calm in a hostile environment resulting in reaching a level of fitness and understanding the basic fighting principles. This will allow for you to advance to a more forceful level of self-defence. Let me explain…

The body cam record evidence that can be used in a court of law

What to do? Will always be the question and everyone is looking for a quick solution towards this problem, meaning that some will attend a self-defence seminar or attend one- or two-day self-defence classes or start searching for answers on YouTube and ‘think’ they are now fighting experts. It takes a lifetime of hard work every day to achieve a grading belt in martial arts and just to be told by your Sensei that you not ready yet, what makes you think you can do it in a day or two. Out of a 1 000 people starting with a self-defence/ martial arts course, only one percent will completed or grade on the end of the day.

Will we be able to make a difference in the way people think, by making posters and marketing “do not harm our members”? And the answer is no. We are fighting against a society that has the ‘love for power on social media’, ‘people that are under the influence of substance abuse’ and ‘gang-related crimes.

If you are not willing to learn selfdefence and we cannot make a difference? What is left?

Maybe it is time to issue each emergency worker with a body cam that is linked to a control room system, allowing for live view, live audio feed and allowing qualified control room operator to advice and, if an emergency is evolving, they can activate mitigating procedures on behalf of the person in distress.

Maybe it is time to issue each emergency worker with a body cam that is linked to a control room system?

The body cam record evidence that can be used in a court of law, you will be able to point out the criminals involved, evidence can be used for training purposes but evidence can also be used against any member of a service committing an offence. Will this stop an attack? No but can we get justice? Yes!

If we do not try, we will fail our members and if we fail our members, we fail our community.

You are welcome to contact Morne Mommsen via email: dnaemergency@gmail.com. Maybe it is time to issue each emergency worker with a body cam that is linked to a control room system?

The body cam record evidence that can be used in a court of law