The skills Dfuse offers are needed in many roles within local authorities and charities. Apart from the many customer-facing roles common to both sectors, local authorities have civil rules to enforce and senior officers in both sectors spend much of their time dealing with many types of conflict.

In some jobs difficult situations are more predictable:

street wardens facing a group of drinkers at night in a controlled zone when the drinkers speak little English,

a youth worker finding himself between his own group of youths and another challenging group,

a tenancy officer enforcing rules about social standards or legitimate occupation.

In other work officers may face the unexpected

a man being given first aid becoming violent,

a licensing officer warning an off-licence owner about serving under-age customers and then finding his exit blocked by youths

a support worker finding the grief of a failed asylum application turning into fury.

On the basis of our experience with a wide variety of issues the Dfuse programme ensures that staff develop the skills to respond proactively and confidently to challenging behaviour in ways that deescalate confrontation and lead to more positive outcomes. Whether facing verbal confrontation or the threat of violence employees will learn how to recognize potential risks, develop the skills to defuse confrontational situations, portray confidence and defend themselves against aggression.

The training is adapted to the client’s particular situations through discussion, tutor input and role-playing scenarios.

‘We ordered two courses but then took another as staff were saying they felt really empowered and much more confident in dealing with difficult people both at work and in their personal lives. We are a better team and can really recommend it’. ASB Coordinator for Partners for Improvement in Islington The final end-of -course evaluation forms together rated the content, delivery and relevance of the material at above 90%.

Training programmes provided to date for: officers in anti-social behaviour community safety, environmental health, estate wardens, income recovery, licensing, noise complaints, public protection, security, street scene enforcement, street wardens, tenancy officers, trading standards and youth work. Clients groups have included L.B. Redbridge, L.B. Westminster, North East London Trading Standards group, Lewisham Homes, Hyde Housing Association etc as well as charities such as the Red Cross. LB Havering? LB Islington?