How to handle threatening phone calls
Whenever an employee answers a telephone, an unexpected threat can be an unwanted, distressing, even frightening experience. Unfortunately, such calls are increasing. In earlier times many were hoaxes by schoolboys and other pranksters. Now, increasingly, they are not. For this reason, your staff should be prepared for the unexpected. The following advice is provided to help you to prepare them...
1. Ignore mischievous callers.
The appropriate way to handle anonymous telephone calls (or letters) that peddle mischievous gossip is to ignore them. The letters should be thrown in the waste basket and the calls forgotten. This applies to the majority of anonymous communica-tions, complaints or mischievous comment about the personal lives of staff members. Don't tell the employee that an anonymous call or letter has been received. It tends to give some kind of official sanction to the call.
Consider the following response if an anonymous phone call comes through to you as manager: 'My name is Sue Shaw. I'm the manager. Unfortunately, unless you give me your name, I'll have to hang up the phone. However, if at any time in the future you want to call and identify yourself, I'll be pleased to discuss with you any matter involving our organ-isation.' Then, if the caller doesn't identify himself or herself, hang up.
This advice, of course, is not totally binding. The exceptions are the threatening letters or calls; managers must have a separate set of procedures to handle those.
2. Treat threatening callers seriously.
If your organisation receives a bomb threat by telephone, or a call which threatens the physical safety of a staff member, it is important to record as much information as possible to help police with their inquiries, or for you to take other appropriate action immediately. For this reason, it is wise to compile a Threatening Phone Call Check list which should be kept handy to each telephone on your premises. The check list should comprise six components:
- The wording of the threat
- Questions to ask the caller
- Caller's voice characteristics
- Background noises
- The language of the threat
- Staff response policy.
Staff taking any threatening phone calls should complete the check list during and immediately after the menacing call is taken.
3. Record the wording of the threat.
Try to record, or record later, the exact words of the threat. It is important to keep the caller talking so that, for accuracy purposes and for police follow-up action, you can obtain as much information as possible.
