How do you handle emergencies or unforeseen situations during patrols?

In any emergency situation, our first priority will be to notify emergency services and get help en route to the location. After that, what officers do will depend on the nature of the emergency.

Whatever the case may be, NVCSS officers are trained so they don't succumb to the "bystander effect," e.g. freezing up or standing around doing nothing.

Our Approach

Even after 9-1-1 has been called and help is on the way, there's almost always more that can be done while waiting. NVCSS officers are trained in our ACCESS protocol, a system for emergency response that breaks down as follows:

Analyze

Officers will evaluate the situation and attempt to identify all involved parties, any threats present, the nature of the threats, and what approach is most appropriate to reduce or prevent harm.

Control

Officers will take action as needed to safely mitigate the danger.

Contain

Some situations may be too dangerous to act upon before help arrives. If this is the case, officers will take steps to impede the danger so it doesn't spread elsewhere.

Evacuate

If a dangerous situation cannot be contained, officers will identify uninvolved/innocent parties and prioritize getting them safely out of harm's way, directing foot or vehicle traffic as needed.

Secure

Once innocent bystanders are safely evacuated, officers will prioritize maintaining a "safe zone" outside the affected areas and prevent re-entry if possible.

Signal

Once the scene is secured, the danger contained or controlled, and potential dangers are less likely to affect innocent bystanders, officers will take steps to facilitate the arrival of emergency services. For example, if your property is large and has a complicated layout, they may go to a main entrance and stand by to guide arriving units to the proper destination, or park their patrol car in a prominent location and activate beacon lights.

A Proactive Philosophy

Officers are never instructed to stand by passively, nor do we condone or encourage inaction. We recognize that our clients place immense trust in us, so we equip and empower our officers with the training and resources they need to act when an emergency situation arises.