First Responder Skills

As an RLSH, you'll be out there in the city. It would be wise to acquire some first responder skills. The basics are: First Aid/CPR/AED from Red Cross, "Asynchronous, Online De-Escalation Training for Security Officers" by Defuse ($89), and "What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence" by NIJ. These particular classes will give you a skill set that you can apply to RLSH work, your actual job, and in your personal life.

First Aid/CPR/AED from Red Cross ($115 in-person)

The 2021 Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED blended learning course equips students to recognize and care for a variety of first aid breathing and cardiac emergencies involving adults children and infants. It is designed for students who need a certification that satisfies OSHA workplace or other regulatory requirements. This class is taught in a blended learning format and the online portion (accessed via mobile desktop or tablet) must be completed prior to attending the Instructor-led skills session. Upon successful completion a valid 2 year digital certificate for Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED is issued.

For many employers, the online only class won't cut it. You have to opt for the in-person class - which takes like 3 hours.

"Asynchronous, Online De-Escalation Training for Security Officers" by Defuse ($89)

Security officers are constantly under pressure to handle intense situations. Managing distressed individuals can be exhausting and, in some cases, dangerous. This is especially true when dealing with emotionally escalated people, whether they are customers, eventgoers, or members of the general public. 90 minute course.

"What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence" by NIJ (Free, online)

This course focuses on issues that arise for the first-responding law enforcement officer and is intended to provide interactive training that covers basic information about the identification, preservation, and collection of DNA evidence at a crime scene. Recommended practices covered in this tutorial module may not be applicable to all situations or crime scenes. You should apply local department or agency procedures or applicable laws that govern the use, collection, and processing of DNA evidence.

Why Bother?

Having a solid skill set of "first responder skills" should be pretty straight-forward for any RLSH to grasp. If we are out there at a scene and help is needed, we need to be able to step in to provide that help; otherwise, what the fuck are we doing calling ourselves a superhero? The three courses listed here are just super basic skills that RLSH should want to have.

Another way of thinking about "skills" is how you might consider CEUs (continuing education units), which many people have to acquire annually for their jobs. If we want to assign CEUs to these three classes, I would suggest something that reflects the time per class:

• First Aid/CPR/AED (3.0 CEU)

• De-Escalation (1.5 CEU)

• First Responding Officer - DNA Evidence (1.0 CEU)

It should also become a consideration to obtain an annual amount of CEUs with additional training, but this would be up to the individual RLSH. It could make for an interesting discussion.

If anyone is interested, I could put together a list (to expand upon) for RLSH-related CEUs. Let me know in the comments or in the forum.