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Q&A: School Shooter Preparedness

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Schools across the country are back in session. And in the wake of high-profile school shootings earlier this year, safety is a top priority for students, parents, educators and communities. Steven Smith, founder and president of Guardian Defense, specializes in active shooter preparedness and works with education industry leaders to keep their facilities safe.

We reached out to Smith to discuss how preparedness strategies have changed, the types of plans schools implement and for ways to better incorporate them into their culture.

Risk Management Monitor: How have recent school shootings impacted the way you train clients?

Steve Smith: Every mass shooting at a school impacts our training because we learn a little bit more from these horrific events on how to prepare, train and react. Parkland was different for our company because it hit home as this event occurred in our nearby community. Parkland impacted us, our staff, our community and our friends personally. Along with my SWAT Team, I responded to the incident and arrived on scene approximately 30 minutes after the incident. Some of our staff had friends working in the school and knew of other co-workers who had their children attending the school during that time.

RMM: Have they changed active shooter preparedness plans among schools?

SS: By the time law enforcement arrive on scene during a mass casualty incident, the damage has often already been done. The teachers and staff at the schools must receive training, understand the situation, make their own decisions and put action behind it. This will help mitigate mass casualties.

Active shooter preparedness plans change at times depending on the individual school, if they are private, or in a county with a large school district. The biggest hurdle I find in the change in policies is the lack of knowledge and experience. Generally speaking, the “active shooter” concern has not been in school or corporate safety plans for very long. Most administrators tasked with providing training and updating safety plans for this type of threat were never in a formal “lockdown” drill when they were students, themselves. Recognizing this, they rely on the experts for guidance and training to provide them with realistic policies, training and a drill plan for their staff.

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RMM: What are the potential risks or benefits of arming teachers?

SS: The perception of every teacher being armed in our schools is not yet a reality in this country. There are alternatives to arming teachers in classrooms. One that immediately comes to mind is training.

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A teacher with no previous training will have to incur at least two weeks of firearm training and even more tactical training on how to respond to these incidents. This will take time and money, which is usually hard to come by in any school or business.

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Other alternatives that meet safety needs have been discussed and approved in many districts. Schools have hired police officers in their cities to work off-duty employment. This would be my first recommendation because officers are trained and obligated to respond to this threat.

RMM: What are the factors risk professionals should consider when choosing a preparedness plan?

SS: All facets of security are important, such as structural hardening and security upgrades, but if we are building a foundation for active threat preparedness, our recommendation is to follow our model of Policy-Train-Drill.

In order to respond appropriately to a threat on site, every individual needs to understand how to make decisions for themselves and put action behind it. Time is not on our side when it comes to this type of crisis and people, in general, have stood by to wait for direction and instruction when there is an emergency. In these incidents, delayed responses can equate to mass casualties. Therefore, putting the response plans on paper, training all staff, and conducting drills are where we find the best starting point for active threat preparedness.

RMM: When hosting an event, what can risk managers do to avoid a shooting like the recent one in Jacksonville?

SS: If an incident gets to the point where an attacker is carrying out their plan, it does not mean the hosting site failed. In some instances, indications of a threat are not clear or available, making intervention efforts difficult. We can prepare beforehand for a possible threat.

  • My first recommendation would be to meet with the local police department and inform them of the event. Request to pay for a detail officer to be on site. The number of hired officers would depend on the projected number of attendees. The officer’s presence alone could deter an attack.
  • I would also request to have a meeting with the police supervisor that would be working the day of the event and share the floor plans and emergency procedures with all contact information, so law enforcement and fire would have everything they need in case of an emergency.
  • If there are no police available on that day, consider hiring armed security officers to be on site.
  • Inside the event site, install a security checkpoint with bag checks or security wands being utilized to ensure no weapons are being brought into the event. Depending on the event, prior notice can be communicated that a strict “no-bag policy” will be enforced.
  • Meet with staff beforehand and establish a “safety team” that will discuss vulnerabilities and how you will remedy them.

Regardless of the event, security must be the utmost priority and will at times feel inconvenient for the guests, but the old saying, “Safety first” is how we need to think and prepare in today’s world.

Body Scanners Installed in L.A., Tested in Other Locations

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Security scanners that screen passengers entering stations and terminals are being tested around the country and have been installed in subway stations in Los Angeles. The Associated Press reported that the machines scan for both metallic and non-metallic objects. They can detect suspicious items from a distance of 30 feet and are capable of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour. About 150,000 passengers ride on the Metro’s Red Line daily and the subway system counted more than 112 million rides last year, the AP said.

The New York Times reported that the federal government has been studying the technology for 15 years. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) partnered with the Los Angeles transit agency on the project, helping the agency test and vet security technologies. The devices purchased are made by the company Thruvision and can be placed at locations throughout the transit system, officials said.

According to the Times:

Officials in Los Angeles said that riders need not worry that their morning commute would turn into the sort of security nightmare often found at airports or even sporting events. The portable screening devices, which will be deployed later this year, will “quickly and unobtrusively” screen riders without revealing their anatomy and without forcing them to line up or stop walking, they said.

“We’re looking specifically for weapons that have the ability to cause a mass casualty event,” Alex Wiggins, the chief security and law enforcement officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said Tuesday. “We’re looking for explosive vests, we’re looking for assault rifles. We’re not necessarily looking for smaller weapons that don’t have the ability to inflict mass casualties.”

On Aug. 14 the scanners were tested in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, where in December a man set off a crude pipe bomb in an underground subway passageway, injuring himself. It is estimated that the Port Authority serves about 8,000 buses and 225,000 commuters daily.

As the Risk Management Monitor reported, the TSA also tested body scanners in New York’s Penn Station in Manhattan in February and has conducted tests at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and at a New Jersey Transit station during Super Bowl XLVIII, the AP said.

The Business Impact of the Supreme Court’s Travel Ban Decision

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In one of its most anticipated cases in decades, the U.

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S. Supreme Court on June 26 upheld President Trump’s latest “travel ban,” delivering a key win to the Trump administration and one of its strict immigration enforcement stances. The Court concluded the president’s executive order—which largely targeted individuals from predominately Muslim countries—did not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause by favoring one religion over another, ruling that the order was a lawful exercise of the authority granted to the president by Congress.

The Supreme Court’s action now permits immediate enforcement of one of the president’s signature immigration policies that began in January 2017 and included repeated trips to the federal judiciary. Employers with workers from the affected countries—Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela—now need to ensure proper protocols are put into place to spare employees from unnecessary risk and to preserve smooth business operations.

Given that the travel ban can be enforced immediately, employers should:

  • Identify employees who are nationals of banned countries. The effect of the ban differs between the seven countries, so consult immigration counsel to be sure you understand how the ban applies to the country of origin for your employees.
  • Instruct any affected employees who are abroad and have not previously been affected by the prior travel bans to return immediately.
  • Caution workers from the affected countries not to travel outside the United States.
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    While the underlying litigation surrounding the travel ban will continue in the lower courts, assume the ban will be in effect for the foreseeable future.

  • Tell foreign national employees to carry originals or clear copies of legal authorization to be in the U.
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    S. at all times and to consult with an immigration attorney before signing any paperwork presented by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of State.

  • Instruct employees to cooperate and present evidence of their U.S. immigration documentation and legal status if they are stopped by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
  • Advise employees that if their temporary work visas are expiring, they should take immediate steps to extend those visas.
  • Consider whether to sponsor employees who are here on soon-to-expire temporary work visas for permanent residency, if they are eligible.

Business and Employee Safety During Crisis Explored at RIMS 2018

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SAN ANTONIO – Emergency preparedness and action plans amid violent crises were explored during educational sessions at RIMS 2018 here. On Monday and Tuesday, experts discussed ways businesses can prepare for active shooter events and kidnapping crises. Experts agreed that in such events, lives, operations, reputation and finances are all at stake.

Some highlights from the sessions:

Kidnapped! A Crisis Simulation Exercise
Bill Laurence, head of crisis management at S-RM offered a kidnap simulation for a well-attended session on Monday. Laurence provided a scenario, asking the audience to assume a collective role as decision-makers of a fictitious, billion-dollar coffee company that has an executive abducted in Mexico. The group’s assignment was to create a crisis management team and decide who the communicator would be, how they would respond to threats and what information to relay to their insurance provider, among other critical actions.

“The first 24 hours are always the most critical during a kidnapping or ransom scenario,” Laurence said.

The simulation included real-life audio and video examples of terrifying ransom-demanding calls. The team learned that the kidnapper has typically planned the abduction in advance and always has control of the situation – beginning with communication. “For that reason alone, you cannot speed up the process,” Laurence said.

And although things may seem dire, he explained ways to glean information – and feel somewhat positive – even after a brief phone call. “We all react differently to pressure,” he said. “But avoid speculation and always prepare for the next call.”

Read more about kidnapping in a Q&A with the session’s co-host, Denise Balan, senior vice president and head of U.S. kidnap & ransom at XL Catlin, on page 9 in Tuesday’s Show Daily.

Active Threat and Workplace Violence on Campus: Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Craig McAllister, Cornell University’s director of risk management and insurance, opened a session on Tuesday with a discussion of duty of care and the obligation to the campus or work environment.

He pointed out that, in early January, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) processed its NFPA 3000 Standard as a provisional one to streamline the program elements necessary for organizing, managing, and sustaining an active shooter and/or hostile event response program. The standard gained even more input following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 in an effort to reduce or eliminate the risks, effect, and impact on an organization or community affected by these events

Paul Mills, global kidnap prevention manager at AIG, followed with a segment addressing best practices for violent incident preparation and response. He discussed response and resilience training for employees who need enhanced preparedness with the rise of violence against soft targets.

He noted that advances in technology often are putting people in harm’s way by default. “People are distracted to the point where they are unaware of the threats they face. It’s also delaying and inhibiting their response times,” he said. “Without even realizing it, they often portray victim-like behavior.”

Kendell Moore, senior vice president at the Abernathy MacGregor Group, delved into the key crisis management sources of an organization’s response support, both internally and externally. She used a mass shooting that occurred inside a local business in the western United States (that is also part of a major American chain) as an example of an entity that needed to enact its crisis communication plan immediately after the attack.

Moore offered some crisis communication principles:

  • Media is a conduit, not an audience. “The media needs to catch up to the actions of the business.”
  • Speak directly to the impacted. “It is most important to communicate with victims, loved ones, the community and those who are directly affected.”
  • Take action, not credit. “No statement, no matter how eloquent, can substitute for doing the right thing.”
  • Communicate what matters when it matters. ““What is said first must stand the test of time. So announce nothing and predict nothing that isn’t solid and certain.”
  • Build relationships in the community. ““Work alongside local law enforcement, government officials and those who know the community best.”
  • Listen to people’s needs and requests. “Ask what people need, rather than telling them what you think they need.”