The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) developed a four-product de-escalation series for critical infrastructure owners and operators to:

1. Recognize the warning signs for someone on a path to violence, identify stressors, changes in baseline behavior, and observable behavioral indicators.
2. Assess the situation to protect personal safety and the safety of those around you. Identify what an escalating person may look like and warning signs. It is important to create a holistic assessment of the person of concern’s circumstances and stressors; this begins with awareness of one’s self, precipitating events or stressors, and the situation unfolding.
3. De-escalate the situation currently taking place if safe to do so. Individuals are encouraged to use purposeful actions, verbal techniques, and body language to calm a potentially dangerous situation.  Safety is the highest priority, know your limits, and obtain help immediately if needed.
4. Report the situation through organizational reporting to enable assessment and management of an evolving threat, and 9-1-1 for immediate threats.

According to CISA, the De-Escalation Series for Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators follows the Employee Vigilance Through the Power of Hello to help critical infrastructure owners, operators, and staff identify and navigate suspicious activity or potentially escalating situations to safely dis-engage and report to local law enforcement or their organization’s multi-disciplinary threat management team.

In addition, the series contain a small list of examples of potential stressors, changes in baseline behaviors, observable behavioral indicators, observable physical behaviors, and potential warning signs of an escalating person; these are not intended to be taken as single indicators but should be observed to support a holistic assessment of the person of concern’s circumstances and stressors.  

For more information and to access the series, visit: cisa.gov/publication/de-escalation-series. For questions please email central@cisa.gov.

To learn more about how de-escalation can be used a key frontline security strategy in a range of situations, visit https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/95754-top-de-escalation-strategies-and-training-for-security-leaders.