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Risk management
Health and safety should be a primary concern for both outreach service managers and frontline staff. Safe working practices lead to more confident, competent staff and aid in producing better overall outcomes. This is a summary page of the procedures applicable to those implementing outreach services.
The Practical risk management page gives more detail on the methods of ensuring frontline worker safety when on the streets.
The responsibility for health and safety lies with everyone and every worker is responsible for monitoring their own and others safety at work. It is acknowledged that work undertaken by street outreach teams involves a risk so an approach where risk is managed rather than avoided is the most beneficial.
Good practice procedures
Criminal Records Disclosure – A Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure is necessary for all those working with vulnerable people and should be an essential part of the recruitment process. See our CRB disclosures page for more details.
Paired working – ensuring that all work is carried out in pairs means that one person can lead engagement whilst the other can assess the surroundings and any potential risks. Workers should be encouraged, in advance, to discuss how they wish to work with managers and potential partners. It is important to consider staff skills and preferences when matching pairs.
Training – staff need to feel confident in situations of risk and training is a very important means of achieving this. Dealing with aggressive behaviour can be complex and emotional and training courses can equip staff with the skills and emotional tools to resolve these situations. Assertiveness training will also raise staff confidence in all areas of their work.
Police contact – having a good relationship with the local police and clear lines of communication is important. Staff should be provided with relevant contact names and numbers. One good practice procedure is to develop a system where outreach staff contact police at the start of their shift and state which area(s) they will be working in, and then phone to confirm their shift is complete.
Designated staff – although health and safety of staff is the responsibility of all, it is sensible to charge a member of staff with overall responsibility for developing procedures. Having a designated member of staff (e.g. on call manager) on a shift that can be contacted in emergency or difficult situation is also recommended.
Incident book – a centralised record of all relevant occurrences and incidents should be used and up-to-date. Information should be supplemented by information exchanges between staff to determine any personal or collective safety considerations that might arise during upcoming shifts. Staff should check the incident book before every shift.
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