'Tis the season for assaults against emergency workers?
The festive season almost always causes a rise in the number of assaults against emergency workers, writes Lina Kolesnikova
This includes both incidences caused by groups and individuals. From health workers to rescue services, such attacks have seen a sharp hike globally around this time of the year.
Unfortunately, the people who are on the frontlines, working to provide safety and security, are the ones who are physically and verbally harassed or threatened. In some instances, their work equipment is also vandalised or stolen. Some have also been sexually assaulted as well.
During New Year's Eve, there are an increasing number of reports of people throwing projectiles at police, firefighters, and paramedics as they are assisting people.
The psychological and often direct physical effect is not limited to the professional community, which faces challenges in carrying out duties safely and may suffer from post-traumatic stress reactions after violent events. Society at large is also affected. Unacceptable attacks contribute to the emergence of ‘no-go’ areas in our cities or specific types of incidents, resulting in people being deprived of essential services due to the prevailing insecurity for personnel delivering public services on the ground.
Alcohol and drugs are not the main cause of people’s aggressive behaviours towards emergency service workers. In several places, dangerous divisions splitting authorities from the communities they serve have been created, and such divisions produce insecure, unsafe environments for all people within them, including the workers on duty.
These workers are individuals with their own needs and concerns. Observing a lack of respect and understanding for their services, coupled with inadequate protection and rehabilitation, they find themselves making choices in their daily operations—whether rational or irrational. These choices often boil down to prioritising their health and family over risking confrontations with assailants or delivering services under assault. It's not a favourable situation. If more individuals are faced with such difficult choices, it can contribute to a self-destructive spiral of insecurity and distrust, encompassing all aspects of these terms.
Unfortunately, in many countries, assaults against emergency workers are seen as an ‘occupational hazard’. There is a clear need to highlight how serious these incidents are and how leaving them unresolved can create a cauldron of trouble. Left like this for long enough, this melting pot can lead to the ignition of even more violence, and in this case, there may be no emergency response available to help quell the flames.
Awareness campaigns can be developed to possibly deal with this issue. This is one instrument that can be easily implemented with the least amount of political posturing. There are two main objectives that must be kept in focus:
Educating the public on the moral values and dedication of public services towards the overall good of society. The difficult part here would be addressing those who believe that society is fine as it is. The value of such a campaign must be made more obvious to them.
Publicise why emergency services are needed, what the delivery looks like, and the consequences of disruptions to said services. When precious time is wasted because of the inability of rescue or emergency personnel to adequately fulfil their duties, there is a very human cost. The focus must be on the clear, direct public link between assailants and the damage they cause to people beyond just the workers.
The security industry may work to provide more assistance in this context as well. For instance, more surveillance and tracking equipment could help. Essentially, such measures also demand larger budgets. Budgets for emergency services of any kind are always limited. While this may appear to be an obvious priority to ensure security, states often oppose such additional demands.
One needs to remember that many policies at the higher levels of Maslow’s pyramid should be considered when the foundation of the pyramid is stable and solid. With an improper foundation, the whole pyramid may collapse, leaving policies buried and forgotten under the ruins of previously liveable and lively societies.