Subject’s behaviour
Aggressive or violent behavior includes a wide spectrum of behaviours.
- Calm and nonthreatening: Frustration only without overt signs of agitation.
- Verbal agitation, wherein speech patterns indicate irrational
- Verbal hostility, wherein more aggression is suggested
- Verbally threatening, wherein actual threats are conveyed
- Physically threatening: Patient assumes a fighters stance and makes a fist.
- Physically violent: Patient physically attacks
A subject’s behaviour, and the increasing level of threat (coloured from blue, warning, to red, danger) can be described in the following ways:
| Table 1: Subjects behaviour and level of threat | |
| Subjects behaviour | Level of threat to staff |
| Compliant/non-threatening | Complies with our requests |
| Verbal and non-verbal indicators of threat/violence | See warning and danger signs |
| Active aggression | Subject strikes |
| Assaultive/aggression/violence | Repeated and focused attempts at assault |
| Serious/aggravated violence | Production of a weapon with the intent to use it in an assault |
Within this range of behaviours we can recognise various warning signs or danger signs.