(TLP:CLEAR) CISA Releases De-escalation Reference Card for Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators

Summary: Last week, CISA released a new product, the De-escalation Reference Card, for critical infrastructure owners and operators, front line staff, and public safety officials, as well as any personnel responsible for securing public gathering locations and venues.

Analyst Note: In today’s heightened threat environment, socio-political grievances, financial troubles, or other triggers can motivate individuals to target infrastructure workers or facilities. To help mitigate potential violence, CISA offers a variety of free resources to educate employees with the skills they need to de-escalate hostile situations and help prevent violence.

According to CISA, this new reference card helps critical infrastructure personnel:

• Address escalating situations that could result in violence,
• Identify courses of action to effectively defuse a volatile situation, and
• Provide critical safety principles to guide incident reporting. 

This resource is a companion product to CISA’s De-escalation Series. This series helps critical infrastructure owners, operators, and staff identify and navigate suspicious activity or potentially escalating situations.

Water and wastewater utilities frequently experience threats of harm directed against their staff and assets, which WaterISAC tracks in its Quarterly Water Sector Incident Summary reports. Indeed, past security incidents at utilities have been successfully de-escalated by staff, highlighting the importance of training employees on de-escalation and conflict prevention.

Original Source: https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/de-escalation-reference-card

Additional Reading:

• Workplace Violence Bulletin Offers Guidance for Recognizing Threatening Behaviors and Strengthening an Organization’s Security Preparedness
• Understanding Behavioral Red Flags to Prevent Workplace Violence and Insider Threats

Mitigation Recommendations:

• CISA – Conflict Prevention
• FEMA’s Workplace Violence Awareness and Prevention Course

Related WaterISAC PIRs: 1 & 2