De-escalation techniques

When an officer recognizes that a victim is frightened or feeling overwhelmed, the officer can take steps to bring the individual back to the present moment using grounding techniques (Ostad-Hashemi, 2017). Grounding techniques are best used for dissociative reactions and can include allowing the victim to go for a walk (e.g., in the police station lobby or outside), letting them engage in tactile exercises like rolling a ball or pen between their fingers, or setting a timer during the interview to help reorient the victim and disrupt dissociative symptoms (Koucky et al., 2012).

Breathing exercises can also be used to reduce stress and anxiety by disrupting the body’s stress response. Acute symptoms of anxiety and panic have a biological link to the body’s stress response. Symptoms of anxiety and panic result in an increase in the catecholamines that lead to hyperventilation. When a person hyperventilates, they exhale an excessive amount of carbon dioxide. This results in acute respiratory alkalosis and a drop in arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and elevation in pH (Derrick et al., 2019).

A modified version of a simple exercise protocol described by Sürücü et al. (2021) is an easy technique officers can use to help victims feel at ease or calm a victim who begins to hyperventilate. First, have the victim lie or sit down in a quiet room and ask them not to move or speak. Then for about 15 minutes instruct the victim to complete 10-second cycles of inhaling for five seconds and exhaling for five seconds using diaphragmatic breathing (i.e., belly breathing).

Another calming breathing exercise is to have the victim sit or lie down in a distraction-free environment and while breathing from the abdomen, inhale slowly through the nose to a count of five, hold their breath for a count of five, and then exhale for a count of five. The victim should then take two breaths with normal rhythm, and then repeat the entire cycle for three to five minutes. Both breathing techniques are effective at halting a panic reaction and preventing hyperventilation (Bourne, 2015).

Calming music is also a very effective tool to increase relaxation but is rarely used in the policing environment. A number of studies, including meta-analyses, have demonstrated music’s effectiveness in helping people settle and let go of stress and anxiety. A review of 22 quantitative studies by Pelletier (2004) found that music alone significantly decreased arousal levels. A systematic review of 18 studies with a total of 1,301 participants by Fu et al. (2019) found that the use of music around the time of surgery reduced the neuroendocrine cortisol stress response to surgery. Further, a meta-analysis by Harney et al. (2022) included 21 controlled studies that demonstrated that listening to music was an effective technique to reduce anxiety in a variety of participants (e.g., prisoners, pregnant women, elderly, high school students, and stroke patients). Considering the simplicity and cost effectiveness of this approach, calming music could be used in police station lobbies, hallways, interview rooms, and potentially on calls to ensure that at least one anxiety reduction technique is available to ease traumatized victims.