From Chaos to Compliance: Communication, Control, and De-escalation of Mentally Ill & Aggressive Offenders

Parole and probation officers must deal with individuals suffering from psychiatric or substance abuse disorders on a frequent basis. Ellis Amdur and Alan Pelton offer parole and probation officers a comprehensive set of strategies to keep themselves as well as the general public safe, while functioning at the highest level of professionalism. The first section of this book offers an overview of the role of community corrections in dealing with the mentally ill and/or substance abusing offender. The second section is tactical: everything from field safety and tactical planning on one side, to honing your intuition to pick up early signs of danger on the other. In the third section of the book, the authors focus on us: what we can do to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. Rather than abstract pronouncements, they offer specific strategies, including a method of breathing for the purpose of maintaining one's own center in crisis situations. They then discuss specific behaviors ranging from confusion and obsessive concerns to psychosis, mania and acute disorganization. In one very important section, they discuss interactions with manipulative individuals (at worst, those referred to as psychopaths), people who present a danger to the psychological and physical well-being of anyone with whom they come in contact. They then move on to a discussion of aggression, whether directed at the parole or probation officer or others. There is a specific section set aside on dealing with aggressive youthful offenders. Amdur and Pelton discuss how to de-escalate aggressive and chaotic individuals once a crisis is in play. De-escalation tactics are specific - one learns how to immediately recognize what mode of aggression the person is displaying, and then, one can effectively implement the de-escalation tactics that are best suited to deal with the aggression one is facing.