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You're asking a simple question with a complicated solution as there are many factors that go into conflict, stress, and decision making under pressure.

I think the first thing you could do is positive self-reflection. Recognize that stress and adrenaline diminishes your cognitive abilities, and impacts your ability to make rational and logical decisions. That's a biological response and you're simply being human. You said you were concerned about them getting violent, it was already tense, and I assume all three of them were against you. I would be reasonably concerned as well.

If you find this difficult, you need to stop beating yourself up. Ask yourself a simple question: Did you accomplish your goal or solve the problem? If the answer is yes, it's win and it's positive. Unless you broke a law or policy, it's all a learning experience and you can examine the situation to consider what you might do better next time.

You could take time to imagine yourself in future situations and how you would approach it successfully next time, mentally preparing yourself to act. Learning how to control your breathing can help to lower your heart rate and keep yourself more relaxed. Reminding yourself that the people you often deal with are mad at the situation, or what you represent, and not necessarily making it personal (unless you choose to) can help.

Having sufficient training and experience can help your confidence and inoculate you from some of the negative effects of stress, as mindset is a huge piece of the puzzle. Responding with a partner who has your back will also help.

There are a lot of things you can do, and there's no one single fix. If it's useful to you, two books I would recommend are Verbal Judo by George Thompson, and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. As both touch on some strategies that might help you.

Best of luck and you're welcome to PM me if you want some resources and I'll see what I can drum up.

I have Smith and Wesson model 100 and 300. 100 is chained and 300 is hinged. They're great cuffs and they do the job.

Most high end cuffs won't come with a case afaik and if they do, it's usually cheap. I use this case for both sets. The cuffs fit great and I like the open top design.

You'll also want to pick up a cuff key if you don't already have one. I have one of these. Again, no complaints with it. Zak makes great keys.

As a hospital security officer, I rarely approach any situation without putting gloves on. A couple of pairs in a keeper pouch is a good idea, but almost every hospital in the US has a glove dispenser and a hand sanitizer station within a few steps of wherever you may be at any time. When dealing with psych patients, remember it's the illness talking, not the person. Compassion is a big the biggest part of hospital security.

Keep an extra uniform at work. This is actually a requirement at the hospital I work at. Keep a Vick's Inhaler handy, a couple quick snorts will get funky smells out of your nose in a jiffy. There are lots of funky smells at the hospital.

If you stay there and decide you like the hospital setting, I'd advise you to pick up a copy of Dean Vaughn's Medical Terminology and Baron's E-Z Anatomy & Physiology. It will make following the conversations taking place around you much easier, and those two books present it in a very easy to learn manner.

Buy good boots. Danner Arcadia. Yes they are expensive but they will last years. I can get about 10,000 miles on them before needing new soles. which luckily they are recraftable so you won't need totally new boots. I have had one summer and one winter pair for 7 years. got new soles on them once and that was recently.


Next, get good true boot socks. NOT work socks. Fox River, Either go medium weight or heavy weight. Buy a pair for each day of the week you will need them. then you will only have to wash them once on your weekend.


They are both summer socks but the heavy weights will help in the winter.

Danner makes a steel toe variant of the Arcadia and recon. avoid them unless you are in a rough area and need the extra metal for a fight.

I wore the Steel toe variants and could walk 20 miles in a 10 hour shift, do that for 5-6 days a week for months and have zero foot pain.


If you absolutely can not afford the boots get the socks. they are very important. The proper padding will make a huge difference alone.


One other thing. Get shoe deodorizers if you walk a lot. leave them closed when you put them in every night and they will help will odar a ton.

There’s not much training that would help you in situations with such a diverse group of people. Blanket statements using empathy isn’t fullproof.

I worked with people who had serious mental issues and drug related problems. The only thing I can recommend is being genuine and learning from situations you encounter. Don’t be condescending and don’t act uninterested, most of these people just want someone to talk to, giving them some humility and respect goes a long way. Especially if they create issues. Don’t be too passive and let them understand and know the issues they’re causing, what the end situation might be, and how to give them the illusion of them making a choice.

Transients, young kids, disabled and people with mental issues are all different. People act in different ways and there’s no way of treating everyone the same. These people are considered, just like everyone else in life, difficult to deal with.

I would look into reading How to Deal With Difficult People. There are also a plethora of other books that work on improving your self help and problem solving skills with individuals who are going to be much more confrontational.

I still do bar/nightclub work, I usually wear a pair of leather sap gloves or a pair of the soft knuckle gloves from Line Of Fire. I also have used Hatch brand gloves with hard knuckles, but every pair of hatch gloves I have owned has not stood up to more than a couple months of constant use. I highly recommend Line Of Fire, I know the Sentry and Operator series are a little more pricey, but they do have some more affordable options that have a pretty high level of cut protection. Mechanix makes a pair of covert tactical gloves that are becoming more and more popular. These Mechanix gloves have become popular due to their affordability, and the "normal" look they have to them, no shaped knuckles or anything that could contribute to the "intimidating" glove style some companies don't allow.

As a fellow writer, try this. Let the characters in your stories have a conversation in your head; let them argue motives and justify their actions to one another. Use your notepad (you DO carry one, right?) to jot down the most brilliant bits and work them into your story.

A bit of shameless self promotion but, that’s what I did and I wound up with this.

The bulk of it was written in my head while on duty lol

I recommend a Stanley 32 ounce thermos. Ask for it on your birthday or Christmas or something.

Stanley Classic Vacuum Bottle 1.1QT Hammertone Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FZX93K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_g7fFybAJMF7CC

Hatch Dura-Thin Search Glove .

I like them because they are both thin and tough, and come in XXL.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015RN3FG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If, and only if you are working a site where you are in a blazer or similar then I am an advocate for a tie. If you are in standard class a then ditch the tie. Since your client needs a tie, then I'd stay clip on for the numerous reasons everyone else gave.

One trick if you are in a blazer and need a nicer looking tie than a clip on is to buy used ties at Goodwill , tie it like normal but leave an extra fingers worth of space after you tighten it up, then have someone cut the back of the neck loop, use some stitch witch to close up the two new ends, and put velco on each end of the tie. You now have a quick release tie that isn't a standard clip on, with much better fabric and fit, but still less likely to kill you if someone grabs it.

I much prefer open handcuff cases compared to closed because how quick it is for me to take out the handcuffs but it's all personal preference. The mall I used to work at required us to use closed handcuff cases because they thought handcuffs would fall out of open cases. Funny enough, my coworker dropped his cuffs during an arrest because his case opened up and the handcuffs fell right out.

After I left the mall, my setup has changed and it changes depending where I'm working. The sites/events/festivals where I'm wearing my vest, I'll have 1 set on my vest (closed pouch) and 1 set on my belt (open). If I'm not wearing my vest, I'll have 2 open sets on my belt (1 on my 11:00 and the other on my 1:00).

The entire concept of you being a bigger "target" for having an open handcuff pouch is silly. I think he's saying this because it's not as common for people to use open pouches compared to closed pouches. As u/Sigmarius said, I'll eat crow if he can point me to one verifiable incident of someone targeting an officer for open handcuff pouch.

I don't wanna sound like a shill over here, but moisture wicking shirts have helped a lot. Those ones I linked are the ones I have because they're the cheapest and come in a bunch of colors.

Right now I'm dealing with being lobster-colored all the time. My face is burnt bright red while my arms and legs are ghost white. We just now ordered short-sleeved uniforms in the mail. They can't get here fast enough

Jesus, that's rough. There's no way you can have a pocket sized portable camp stove like this:

https://www.amazon.com/MSR-11792-PocketRocket-Stove/dp/B000A8C5QE

Fuel canisters are $5-7 depending where you are, and there's barely an open flame.

https://www.amazon.com/SABRE-3-Pepper-Spray-Protection/dp/B0007VM8UC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sabre+spray&qid=1557668736&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Is this it?

https://www.amazon.com/Left-Boom-Officer-Penetrated-Al-Qaeda/dp/1250116880

Not sure what the difference between a pouch and a holster is. This isn't what I've been using: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001C4ZLZW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521511609&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=nylon+handcuff+holder

I would look at a propper nylon belt. I've had the same one for 3 years and it's still in good condition.

If you have enough equipment like radio, glove pouch, flashlight, etc. then I would look at getting an actually duty belt. The nylon bianchi Accumold is probably the top choice.

I have had both the Accumold for 4 years and the Accumold elite for about 3 now and both still in great condition. The bianchi patroltek is cheaper but the Accumold has a plastic injection that makes it more rigid.

Then just use belt keepers most likely no more that 4 keepers. Two in front and two in back. I dont like the inner velcro belt. I had one for about a year and my biggest complaint is that the constant taking on and off wears down the velcro and other material, plus the inner belt will catch any lint, string, or whatever inside of it and it's a bitch to get out.

Bianchi Accumold 1016105 7200 Black Nylon Duty Belt (Waist Size Medium 34-40) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002D4B488/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0MkqDbN7AC603.