Preventive steps to keep staff and patrons safe in a worst-case scenario
By Eric Spacek
It’s impossible to ignore news reports about armed-intruder incidents at a wide range of locations, including concerts, malls, places of worship, and movie theaters. As leaders assess their parks, recreation, or camp facility, it might be tempting to assume “it could never happen here.”
The fact is, one never knows when an organization may be faced with potential violence. That’s why leaders must be ready—by performing regular security assessments, understanding the warning signs of an event, collaborating with law enforcement, and preparing tabletop drills.
Security Assessments
It’s important not to be a soft target, while also remaining a welcoming organization to families, youth, and athletes. Conducting an assessment is the first step toward evaluating a facility’s level of security.
During an assessment, ask the following questions:
- Is there an emergency/violence response plan that has been shared with local law enforcement, the fire department, and other first responders?
- Does the staff control the entrances to the property before, during, and after events? Is there a plan for controlling access and/or monitoring the property when it is unoccupied?
- Are there medical trauma kits available in major areas of the facility and/or grounds?
- Is there a means of immediately notifying law enforcement in the event of an emergency?
- Have background checks been conducted on all people with assigned security responsibilities or security-sensitive functions such as money handling?
- Is there a key control policy through which a limited number of people have keys to the building and facilities, and those keys can be retrieved when people leave the organization?
- Are there established rally points outside the facility to be used in an emergency?
- Have any personnel undergone armed-intruder active-response training?
- Does the team periodically inspect, repair, and maintain building and property-access points
such as doors, windows, fences, and gates? - Is there a readily accessible barricading method for interior doors?
- Does staff regularly trim hedges, bushes, trees, and other vegetation and foliage around the facility in order to minimize potential hiding places and unobservable areas?
- Is there a designated spokesperson to communicate with the media in an emergency?
- Is there a business-continuity plan that includes an alternate location for events and activities?
- Are there security cameras that monitor entries, hallways, areas of high occupancy, and areas where valuables/money are stored and handled? Do the cameras also cover the exterior of buildings, such as entries and parking lots?
Identifying Warning Signs Of An Event
When news breaks about mass shootings, people often say the incident “came out of nowhere,” and that no one had any idea the perpetrator would be capable of violence. But that’s not always true.
In certain situations, there are indeed warning signs—if staff know how to recognize them. Everyone in a leadership role at an organization should be on the lookout for signs that an employee, volunteer, or participant—or former employee, volunteer, or participant—may be capable of committing an act of violence. Those signs could include the following:
- Holding grudges
- Being hostile, disruptive, and aggressive
- Being sad for an extended period
- Blaming others
- Being preoccupied with violence.
Watch employees, volunteers, and participants carefully. If someone experiences a loss or has a grievance, keep an eye on how that person manages the situation.
In addition to monitoring employees, there are other ways leaders can monitor public chatter—especially leading up to a big event. Those include the following:
- Monitoring social media: Sometimes, people who plan an attack will broadcast their intentions days or weeks before the event.
- Enabling anonymous reporting: Many would-be armed intruders tell one or two people about their plans beforehand. An organization may choose to create a web-based form that allows those people to warn the organization anonymously.
- Reviewing physical security measures: This involves assessing key systems such as locks, security cameras, lighting, alarms, gates, and doors.
Partnering With Local Law Enforcement
An emergency response plan is essential to prepare for an incident, and local law enforcement agencies should be part of that plan.
First, communicate the plan to the police and share all security measures that have been taken. Unless there’s a security professional within the organization, it is likely some aspects of security have been overlooked. By bringing in an outside professional, leaders can cover all bases.
Local police also should be fully informed about the layout of a facility. If an armed intruder does attack, police will be better equipped to help if they understand the locations of all access points, and how they might be able to enter the building or area undetected.
The Importance Of Tabletop Drills
It’s often at the time of crisis that holes in emergency preparation become clear. For example, in a youth-sports organization, leaders may have accounted for everyone in the building during an incident, but may not have planned for parents and athletes who might arrive while the armed intruder is on the premises.
One way that staff can “plan for the unplanned” is by conducting tabletop drills. Such drills involve gathering no more than 15 people around a table to talk through their roles and responsibilities in a hypothetical situation.
Here’s a sample scenario:
Choose a day and time of the week when the facility is fully occupied. An armed intruder has come in through the main entrance. Upon entering the building, the individual begins to fire shots. At this point, what is the plan of action as an organization? Be sure to discuss the following points:
- How would staff alert other building occupants about the shooter?
- How would they lock down the various areas of the facility?
- How would they inform law enforcement?
- How would they evacuate areas that were not immediately under threat?
- How would they determine if it was safer to lock down or evacuate?
Three minutes later, law enforcement has been notified and is on the way, but the immobile and elderly are still being evacuated. The shooter is progressively breaking through the barricade. Understanding that the shooter may enter at any moment, what is the plan of action? Be sure to discuss the following points:
- How are children, people with disabilities, and others in need of assistance accounted for in this situation?
- How can the shooter be countered if the individual enters the room?
- How will people in the building be informed about a safe rally point?
- What actions can be taken to improve the occupants’ situation?
After finishing the tabletop drill, it is equally as important to evaluate how the team performed. Spend time over every aspect of the drill, paying special attention to areas that were lacking. Leaders will need to develop an action plan to address those pain points.
The process of preparing for the possibility of an armed intruder may be upsetting for some people at a camp, center, or agency. However, it’s an unfortunate necessity today, and it will pay off in the unlikely circumstance that someone targets an organization.