Protective Strategies is a training and consulting company founded by Randy LaHaie in 1994. LaHaie is a lifelong self-defence instructor, a retired police veteran and has been a use-of-force and confrontation management trainer, consultant and subject-matter-expert in critical incident performance for almost 40 years.

During his police career, LaHaie managed the Officer Safety Unit for a large, municipal police service. During that time, he had the opportunity to review and analyze thousands of resistive and violent incidents.

His role provided the opportunity to research, develop and implement several policies and training programs and then evaluate their impact on how trained professionals perform in critical events.

Protective Strategies has extended the application of confrontation management strategies to a broader and more diverse range of occupations outside of law enforcement. These professions are referred to as “High-Risk Professions.”

Protective Strategies specializes in various aspects of dealing with dangerous, adversarial and violent situations in what can be referred to as “the Five D’s:” Diagnose, Develop, Deliver, Debrief and Defend

Diagnose

“What is likely to happen?” What are the tasks, needs, problems, and trends associated to a particular profession? A situation must be accurately diagnosed before an effective solution can be prescribed.

Develop

Policies and training programs must be implemented in such a way that they legitimately enhance employee performance during stressful, chaotic situations. The solutions must be realistic and consistent with stress performance and adult learning concepts.

Deliver

You can have the best policies and programs in the world, but if you can’t transfer that knowledge to your employees, performance will not be enhanced. It is crucial that employees be trained in a safe and effective manner but also that refresher and continuous development is a part of that process.

Debrief

A critical event or the delivery of a change in policy or the implementation of training is not the end of the process. Did the initiative have the desired effect? How well did the employee perform during the critical incident? The occurrence and frequency of events and the outcomes must be tracked, reviewed and used as feedback to determine what is working, what isn’t and what can be improved.

Defend

In many cases, the aftermath and scrutiny after a critical incident are more stressful and challenging than the event itself. The impact of a critical incident does not end when the event is over. In many cases that’s where the liability issues begin. In the event of a critical incident, policy, training and employee performance may be challenged.

The employee’s decisions and performance will be judged in relation to policies, training and legal or civil standards of reasonableness and appropriateness.

What is a High-Risk Profession?

A High-Risk Profession is any job that exposes the employee to dangerous, adversarial or violent situations.

High-Risk Professions may have an arrest and control mandate or an expectation that employees will seek out, respond to and deal with critical events such as policing, corrections, and related law enforcement jobs.

Or in many cases, the potential for danger and violence is incidental, unwanted and unexpected. This could include paramedics, hospital staff, security positions, and other “civilian roles” etc.

The Liability Reduction Model

The Liability Reduction Model is a process of methodically and consistently designing solutions to prevent or mitigate negative events and outcomes. The model was developed, refined and tested by Randy LaHaie over the course of his career. It is a multi-phase process that addresses the four requirements mentioned above: Diagnose, Develop, Deliver and Defend.

The LRM was initially developed and applied in a law enforcement context (officer safety and use-of-force) but has evolved to have a broader more comprehensive approach to ANY high-risk profession.

Examples include:

• Use of force and officer/employee safety

• Personal safety and dealing with violence

• Emergency Vehicle Operations

• Motorcycle Safety & Collision Avoidance

• Security Services

The Purpose of this Website

This website is intended as a resource for employers and individuals who are involved in high-risk professions. it is our effort to lay out the tools, strategies and concepts associated to Liability Reduction and Risk Mitigation to enhance the health, safety, job performance and legal protection of high-risk professionals.

There are three applications of the Liability Reduction Model:

Self-Conducted Audit

By working your way through the content on this website, you can learn enough about the model to conduct your own “liability audit,” to begin the process of identifying and addressing potential sources of risk and liability associated to your company.

The results of that audit can be used in discussions with consultants or trainers to ensure that policies, training, and program initiatives can be tailored to the specific needs of your organization.

Liability Reduction Workshop

You can host or attend a Liability Reduction Workshop to gain a deeper understanding of how the LRM works and how to apply it to the types of situations that your employees are likely to encounter.

The workshop is delivered by a qualified instructor who can break down the various phases of the model, and provide deeper insight into the concepts involved. Armed with that information, you will be guided through the process of applying the model to the specific needs of your organization.

Consulting Services

You can hire the services of a Protective Strategies consultant and have a trained professional conduct the liability audit for you, to dig deep into the tasks, needs, problems and trends. You will also be provided with an assessment of any existing policy and training initiatives that you might already have in place. The end result will be a proposal that provides a range of liability reduction options to consider.

What Services Does Protective Strategies Offer?

• Policy review and development

• Training program design and delivery

• Liability audits and proposed solutions

• Internal reviews related to allegations to potential violations of policy or conduct.

• Forensic reviews and expert testimony for court and judicial proceedings.

Contact Us To Find Out More

For more information about liability reduction and the services available through Protective Strategies please contact us via email at “Randy@ProtectiveStrategies.com,” to arrange for a consultation.