Are you watching the news?
Seeing coverage of active shooter events?
Do you want to prepare yourself and your employees?
Active shooter incidents are becoming more frequent. According to Forbes, there’s been more than one mass shooting per day in 2021, categorized as four or more people killed or injured.
Media coverage and generalized assumptions of active shooter events can create dangerous misconceptions. Here are four misconceptions about active shooter events:
- The risk is low ‒ You might think, “it won’t happen to me or my workplace.” Thoughts like these significantly reduce your chances of surviving an active shooter event because they often lead to being unprepared. The real measure of risk is not simply the probability of an event, but a combination of probability, vulnerability, and consequences.
• Although the chances of something happening to you or at your workplace may be relatively low, the FBI is warning of an upward trend and the numbers bear this out.
• How vulnerable are you? If you work in any environment that is open to the public, you are vulnerable. Active shooters often target less secure places with large numbers of people. Their goal is to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time.
• What are the consequences? The consequences of violent events like these are grave. There are lives lost, medical and counseling bills, lawsuits, property and brand damage, workers compensation and the list goes on. An active shooter incident becomes a crime scene and a business can be closed for days, weeks, months and in some cases may never recover. - Active shooters are always men ‒ While statistics show that most active shooter incidents are conducted by males, it’s more important to focus on individuals exhibiting suspicious or anomalous behavior. People very rarely just snap ‒ they are on a pathway to violence and it is on this pathway where opportunities arise to appropriately report and get people help before a situation turns violent.
- Perpetrated by a stranger ‒ You may think of an active shooter as a stranger who targets a location to which they have no connection. While this can be the case, active shooters can also be people with whom you work. An FBI study found that most shooters didn’t research target locations because they were already familiar with the target; their school, office, or other place of work.
- Shooters are antisocial loners ‒ Violent behavior is usually triggered by stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional issues. With enough of these triggers, almost anyone could become unstable. There are usually noticeable changes in behavior, though. Extroverted people may become more introverted, more hostile, and may stop showing up for work. Introverted people may actually become more vocal and talkative, another change in behavior to be aware of. If you notice dramatic behavioral changes, it may be a sign that a person needs assistance and you should report this to a supervisor, a member of HR, or security, depending on your organization’s policy.
Prepare with workplace violence and active shooter training
Looking for training for your employees that could save their lives?
The Power of Preparedness offers a comprehensive online course for workplace violence prevention and active shooter training that will teach your employees to identify, prevent, and if necessary survive a violent event. Learn about behavioral indicators, situational awareness, verbal de-escalation techniques, Run, Hide, Fight methodology, and more.
Training for these events is essential and it’s the company’s responsibility to keep everyone safe (the OSHA General Duty Clause requires it). Preparedness training is for just that; preparedness. It’s not meant to scare or make anyone feel targeted. When you purchase training courses through TPOP, you can add personal video introductions to reassure your employees they are safe and will be even safer after the training.
If you’re ready to be prepared, call us at (833) 723-3893 or contact us today.