Armed Robbery survival training is more essential than ever in today’s health and safety environment says Icarus Investigations Ltd Director Mike Georgantis. If your business handles cash, drug or other valuable commodities, employees must be trained in how to cope and survive a robbery situation.
Obligations under the Health and Safety legislation Act
Mr Georgantis states that with the implementation of the amendments to Health and Safety legislation that came into force on the 4th of April this year, failure to meet your obligations under the Act has serious implications for your business. If your staff or a customer suffers an injury, including psychological damage, as a result of a robbery, and no training has been provided, this may lead to the company and employer being prosecuted.
He goes on to say that preventing a robbery occurring by having proper cash handling and management procedures in place that are followed by staff is vital, but if the unthinkable happens, it is how your staff react to the situation that will determine outcome.
Ensuring that employee reacts appropriately is a direct result of training and practice. Consider when you learnt to drive, at first you were nervous and the car bunny hopped down the road. Now you get in your car and drive without thinking about it. This is muscle memory and your brain is a muscle.
Surviving armed robbery – receiving the correct training
By undergoing the correct training and implementing that training on a regular basis, when a robbery occurs, your will instinctively react as you have been trained, ensuring that the robber remains calm and doesn’t do anything to further endanger those present.
Although it may seem odd, if correctly trained, it is your staff that are actually in control of the robbery, rather than the robber. This is how they will ensure that it runs smoothly and everyone survives. They can ensure that the robber remains calm, the situation is over in the shortest possible time and the loss is kept to a minimum.
Minimising the psychological consequences
Every violent situation has psychological consequences but if your staff manage the situation through training this is kept to a minimum.
Training will also help staff remain observant and take in relevant details that they may otherwise miss. Staff will learn how to manage the situation after the event to assist the Police is the fast apprehension of the robber.
Icarus Investigations armed robbery survival training
Mr Georgantis and Icarus Investigations Ltd has vast experience in armed robbery survival training and has developed and trained a number of companies in this including Kiwibank. He has investigated and been involved in the aftermath of a number of robberies and has the ability to make the training seem real and relevant.
To minimise your risk under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and more importantly help your employees be safe at work, contact Icarus, let their experience in security risk audits help prevent a robbery occurring at your work place and provide real and relevant training to your staff to ensure their safety should the unthinkable occur.
