September is National Preparedness Month and organizations across the country—like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and Ready.gov—are raising public awareness and urging Americans to better prepare themselves for emergencies or disasters in their communities.
Throughout September, The Power of Preparedness will cover specific actions you can take to enhance your preparedness for workplace violence and active shooter situations.
In Part One of our September series The Preparedness Playbook, we discussed the key questions you should be asking when conducting a risk assessment for your organization. Once you’ve identified security vulnerabilities with the help of a risk assessment expert and feedback from your team, it’s time to take the next step.
Effective collaboration between your organization and law enforcement agencies is crucial for robust preparedness planning—and there are a number of ways you can develop strong partnerships with local authorities to address common security challenges.
Introducing the Teams
The first is simply reaching out. Start a dialogue with the police department in your community. Invite them to your facility for introductions over coffee, and to discuss the findings of your assessment. Ask them how they prefer to liaise with businesses in the area and try to gain an understanding of the safety and security issues both the department and other nearby organizations are facing.
Then establish an agreed upon cadence that includes periodic visits from officers and experts to meet with your team and discuss best practices.
Fostering Mutual Respect
Taking a proactive approach to boosting security efforts through law enforcement engagement is a terrific first step – but truly building rapport takes time.
Unsure where to start? Take a cue from organizations who prioritize the effort. Many businesses host local department officials for an annual appreciation day, some promote volunteer work, and others support community safety programs to help strengthen law enforcement relationships and build mutual respect.
Communicating with Consistency
With your connection in place and cadence locked in, keep the communication lines open between both your team and the authorities.
Create a directory of key law enforcement contacts for your staff; collaborate with local and regional agencies on personnel background checks, community crime trends, and any security alerts within your organization; and discuss incident preparedness and protocols, including prevention and mitigation strategies.
Even if you already have private security in place, developing an integrated, collaborative relationship with law enforcement is a long-term preparedness practice that is well worth the effort.
Join us next for Part Three of The Preparedness Playbook: Updating Emergency Response Plans.
With expertise including Run-Hide-Fight, active shooter preparedness and response, situational awareness, de-escalation techniques, and more, The Power of Preparedness provides critical guidance that can save lives. Contact us to learn more.