Hostile Patrons or Coworkers

The University of Pennsylvania Police Department recommends that you keep the following in mind when confronted with a difficult or hostile person:

Difficult or hostile people may respond positively if you:

Acknowledge their feelings.

Show that you are listening.

Refrain from interrupting them when they are speaking.

Make empathetic statements.

Clarify what they are saying by repeating it back to them.

Offer them choices and suggest possibilities.

Try NOT use the following statements when dealing with difficult people:

"If you will just calm down..."

"If you will just let me talk..."

"You're being unreasonable."

"Exactly what is your problem?"

Do not personalize the situation.
Maintain a neutral face and level tone of voice.

Be respectful but firm and assertive, not aggressive or passive.
Being assertive means you act in a confident way and you talk calmly but firmly, if necessary.

If the hostile person's behavior is not modified or if you feel threatened:

Without alerting the hostile person, call 511 or 215-573-3333 whenever a subject:

Uses abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language that would tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace in a public place

Threatens someone with imminent bodily injury

Causes offensive or provocative physical contact or bodily injury to another

Is a personal endangerment to themselves, damages or destroys property

If an incident involved UPPD, write down the responding officer's name and a case number.

Report any incident to your supervisor.

Also report the incident to the VP-DLC guardstation (215-898-5444), or the Building Superintendent (215-898-1629) or (cell: 215-756-7469).