According to the FBI, over 80% of active shooter incidents occur at work. This statistic underscores the importance of commercial businesses, schools, colleges, and universities being proactive with prudent security measures.
While we can all agree that security is important, there is still a significant gap between the implementation of security practices and the number of incidents that occur.
We have come a long way since the Columbine tragedy 19 years ago, but it is debatable whether we have come far enough One thing is undeniable, in the wake of the Columbine shooting, schools across the country began to embrace new security measures.
Training faculty and students on how to respond during an active shooter event is vitally important to the larger picture. This training can help develop common protocol used during a crisis situation. There are those that may argue this type of training hasn’t made a significant impact, but they should keep in mind that there are many success stories that don’t make headlines. If an incident gets shut down without loss of life, or better yet, intervention prevents it from happening in the first place, it will often go widely unreported.
Improving security requires a constant focus and a process that includes regular assessments, planning, drills, and training.
One prime example of providing such focus is Christina Kishimoto, the Superintendent at the Hawaii State Department of Education.
When asked about her plan to protect schools in Hawaii in light of the mass-shooting issue, Kishimoto said, “Our 15 complex area superintendents work with their principals to make sure every school safety plan is up-to-date. We have a safety director at the state level who reviews those plans. We have five evacuation procedures that are practiced each year at each school. Some schools have gone beyond that and have had training in handling an active shooter scenario.”
Measures like these will help close the gap between workplace security practices and violence. GRA Maven can help your team do the same.
Our unparalleled team of security experts use proven, security assessment techniques, designed to identify threats and vulnerabilities, challenge analytic assumptions, and anticipate potential outcomes. In addition, we offer a one-day interactive active shooter response training seminar to help you develop an emergency action plan. Our training curriculum follows the proven “crawl, walk, run” instructional method. Your staff will develop and improve upon crisis-decision making skills that will help them not only survive an active-shooter scenario, but also lead others to safety as well.
If you are interested to find out more on our Security & Training Services, contact us today.
