Run-Hide-Tell: The Flaw in the UK’s Active Violence Response
Last month, my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in the United Kingdom. We visited England, Scotland and Wales. The trip was filled with beautiful sights and history. During a visit to the Imperial War Museum, I noticed a poster for the UK’s active violence response campaign. In big letters were the prompts: Run-Hide-Tell. This struck me as odd, and it made me do some thinking.
Some History
Most Americans are familiar with the Run-Hide-Fight response model. This model came from a collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and the City of Houston, TX. It was rolled out in 2012.
What few people know is that Run-Hide-Fight was based in large part on a 2004 model from the Department of Justice and Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT). That model was Avoid-Deny-Defend. (Personally, I like Avoid and Deny over Run and Hide, but that’s a separate discussion.) DHS wanted their own thing, so they came up with Run-Hide-Fight.
The UK’s Run, Hide, Tell campaign was launched in December 2015. It was introduced by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) in response to the growing threat of terrorism, particularly following the attacks in Paris in November 2015.
It’s a Menu, Not a Map
One of the biggest issues in the Run-Hide-Fight active violence model is that people get into their heads that those are steps to be taken, in order. First, you run, then hide, then fight. Having listened to many active violence response programs being taught, I can confidently say that not every instructor makes a point of clearing up the misconception. They don’t make it clear that RHF isn’t a map to follow, it’s a menu to choose responses from.
This problem is compounded when people don’t actually get training, they just see the big words on a poster: Run-Hide-Fight. Always in that order. Nobody tells them differently.
Running or hiding may not be an option based on circumstances. It could immediately be fight or die. Or hiding may be the best first step. Good training is the key here. Training that goes beyond just telling you to do one of the three, but HOW to do them.
The Menu is Missing Something
The UK Run, Hide, Tell active violence model is different. Fighting isn’t on the menu. That is, to me, an important point. If people think Run-Hide-Fight is a progression because they are presented it in that order, what does this model tell us? There is Run or Hide… Without Fight, the default choice is Die.
Now, I have thoughts about the UK’s draconian firearms policies. And the wave of knife-related crimes has been well-covered. One could even argue that a government that is now threatening arrests for “hate speech” on the internet is trying to teach a populace to be more compliant.
But I don’t want to make this a political discussion. This is about mindset. And the fundamental flaw in this model.
Trying To Sell Docility
It feels like the government in the UK knows that fight should be on the menu. They engaged in a PR campaign that showed “tough” people like soldiers, martial artists and rugby stars telling people that Run, Hide, Tell is the way. They even enlisted celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls. I’ve included some examples, but the theme is the same in all of them. The message is ‘I’m tough. You’re not. So Run, Hide, Tell’.
The Secret Menu
Ever heard of people ordering off the “secret menu”? It’s trendy to go to places like Starbucks or Chipotle and order something not on the menu. In actuality, the item is there, but if people don’t see it, they don’t order it.
That’s kind of what I fear with Run, Hide, Tell. Bear Grylls, a former SAS soldier knows the Fight is on the secret menu, but does the average high school student walking down the street? Instinctively, we know fighting is an option, but when you hear the options repeated over and over; Run, Hide, Tell…you start to think that is the only thing on the menu.
Believe it or not, we’ve spent so much time telling people to “use your words”, “be civil”, and “aggression is bad” that the idea of fighting back may not even occur to some people. Or they will suppress it. Let me absolve you of any guilt right now: If your life or someone else’s life is in the balance, you have permission to fight. Get savage. Fair fights suck. As the joke goes, fight like you are the 3rd monkey on the ramp of Noah’s Ark and it’s starting to rain.
Here’s a Hot Take
I think we do a disservice when we don’t tell people that they can take an active role in defending their lives and protecting others. I’m not saying to teach everyone to walk into danger needlessly. If running or hiding are the smart moves and actually feasible, then run or hide. But fighting shouldn’t be on the ‘secret menu’. It shouldn’t be confined only to our lizard brain, buried under centuries of becoming cultured and refined. We should not only actively think about it but teach people HOW to fight back. How to improvise weapons, use their setting to their advantage or at least coordinate with others.
There may come a time in life when you have to dig your boots into the dirt and face the storm. That moment should not be the first time you’ve thought about how to fight for your life.– Alan
I may or may not win that fight. But I won’t die hiding under a desk with nothing more than the hope that someone will come rescue me.
Wrapping Up
I hope you are never in a situation where you have to make the decision to fight or just accept death. But if you are, I hope you choose life, not fear.
And remember, not actively making a choice is making a choice.
If you want to learn more about how to survive an active attack situation, contact us. Run-Hide-Fight is a start, but there is more to it. We will teach you practical ways to make all 3 parts more effective for you, your co-workers or your church group.