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This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is
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Figure 1
Field Safety Protocol
Field safety protocols are based on program activities and are intended to provide the staff
and peer educators with guidance regarding their professional behavior.
- Carry picture identification (I.D.) at all times that includes name of the
organization, name of the project, your name, and the purpose for your
presence.
- Work in pairs and always know where your partner is.
- Establish a mechanism to keep your supervisor aware of your location and
activities (e.g., carry a beeper, call telephone mailbox at a specified time).
- Establish contact with local police precincts in the area. Leave copy of I.D.
with the commander. If appropriate for your program, maintain relations with
the police; introduce the program and staff.
- Have contingency plans for worst case scenarios and share them with your
partner.
- Make sure you have made contact with and have permission from a key person
in the community before entering the setting in which you will conduct the
intervention (e.g., shooting galleries, crack houses, or local high schools).
- Leave the area if tension or violence is observed or perceived.
- Avoid controversy and debate with clients and program participants.
- When you start your job as a peer educator in the field, get a TB skin test; you
should be re-tested periodically thereafter.
- Be aware of weather conditions and be prepared for natural occurrences.
- Design and adhere to a schedule for outreach or peer education.
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages and buying, receiving, or sampling drugs
while conducting outreach or peer education.
