In the moment of risk behavior, the safety intervention chosen should be a last resort, proportionate, and reasonable. It is important to select an intervention that carefully balances the risk of the behavior with the risk of intervening, using the least restrictive and safest approach possible to reduce harm and maintain safety.
Key Criteria for Safety Intervention in Risk Moments
- Last Resort: Only intervene physically or restrictively if other less intrusive options have been exhausted.
- Proportionate: The intervention needs to match the level of risk posed by the behavior without being excessive.
- Reasonable: The intervention should be appropriate, justifiable, and aimed at safely managing the situation.
Practical Considerations
- Immediate assessment of the risk severity and likelihood helps guide the choice of intervention.
- Use tools like decision-making matrices to balance risks of behavior and intervention.
- Behavioral safety programs emphasize defining safe/unsafe behaviors, observing them, and giving timely feedback for prevention.
- Interventions often focus on de-escalation and verbal techniques before physical intervention.
- Training such as CPI Safety Intervention provides skills to manage high-risk behaviors safely while minimizing harm.
In summary, the intervention must be the safest, least restrictive, and most appropriate response tailored to the immediate risk behavior, emphasizing safety and proportionality.