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Preparing For the Unthinkable: How to Create an Active Shooter Response Plan
Wade Pederson
Marie Gallanar
Aug 15, 2024
According to The Violence Prevention Project, workplaces are the most common locations for mass shootings in the US. The organization, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center funded by the National Institute of Justice, reports 53 US workplace shootings, representing about 30% of the 188 mass shootings recorded between 1966 and 2021.
A mass shooting is defined as “four or more murders occurring during the same incident with no distinctive time period between the murders.” These incidents involve another term that has become an all too familiar part of our collective vocabulary—active shooter.
The Department of Homeland Security defines an active shooter as “an individual who is engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s), and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.”
This stunning level of violence is something no one can accurately predict. However, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk. This article offers guidelines for assessing your location’s safety, addressing warning signs, and preparing an active shooter response plan.
How Secure Is Your Business Location?
The first step to minimizing your risk is to tour your facility, paying close attention to how people come and go. Here are some questions to consider.
- Do you minimize access to outsiders by utilizing badges, electronic keys, or security guards?
- Have you installed video surveillance, extra lighting, and alarm systems to deter would-be intruders?
- How many entrances does your facility have, and are they locked from the outside?
Consider inviting local law enforcement to visit your business to assess your building’s security and review your response plan.
Pay Attention to Warning Signs
The next step to minimizing your risk is to be aware of the possible warning signs of active shooter behavior. While workplace shootings are unpredictable, the perpetrator often exhibits noticeable changes.
You can help make employees aware of coworkers’ behaviors that could lead to future workplace violence and provide a protocol for reporting such behavior. Here are some potential warning signs from the National Safety Council and Homeland Security.
- Unexplained absenteeism
- Excessive use of alcohol or drugs
- Sudden changes in home life or personality
- Dramatic change in hygiene or appearance
- Decline in job performance
- Depression, withdrawal, or suicidal comments
- Resistance to changes at work or frequent complaints about unfair treatment
- Violation of company policies
- Emotional responses to criticism
- Severe mood swings
- Paranoia
- Unsolicited comments about weapons and violent crimes
Providing personal safety training to employees on how to recognize, avoid, or diffuse potentially violent situations can help decrease the chances of an incident. Ensure employees know how to identify and safely report suspicious behavior to the appropriate supervisor.
Create a Response Plan
How your employees respond during an active shooter event can be crucial to their safety.
The “Run, Hide, Fight” response promoted by the Department of Homeland Security asks training participants to consider those three options when faced with an active shooter.
- Run. To help employees prepare, discuss possible escape routes, and make employees aware of all possible exits from the building in case one is blocked. Post escape routes in multiple locations and be sure to include this information during new hire or temporary worker orientation.
- Hide. Work with your team to identify potential places to hide and test their practicality during an active shooter drill. Also, test how quickly employees can silence their phones during this drill.
- Fight. As a last resort, discuss what tools your employees may have to fight an intruder and how to improvise weapons or identify items that could be thrown to incapacitate or disorient the shooter to escape.
Preparing employees for what may happen during and after an event can save lives. If an employee can call 911, they should be ready to report the shooter's location, the number of shooters, the weapons and their physical descriptions, and the number of potential victims at their location.
Law enforcement agencies urge employees to remain calm and follow instructions. If confronted by police during the incident, employees should drop the items in their hands, keep them raised and visible, and spread their fingers. They should also avoid pointing, screaming, yelling, and asking questions when being evacuated. These measures help law enforcement and rescue teams respond quickly to an event, increasing the chance of survival for the wounded.
"Although we in the work force cannot prepare for every event possible, we can establish basic, easy to remember protocols to employ when faced with a workplace violence event,” says Officer Andy Smith from the Bellevue Police Department SWAT and Division Tactical Unit. “Our environment, preparation, and most importantly teamwork can equip us for our mission of success, safety and the feeling of confidence when faced with such events"
How Specialized Insurance Can Help
An act of violence in the workplace can be devastating for your employees, their families, and your business itself. Offering onsite counseling, conducting eyewitness interviews, developing additional security measures, creating a communications plan, and assessing further threats through social media monitoring are all components of a sound response program.
Specialized insurance coverage can help pay for these and other expenses that follow a violent workplace event. For example, business interruption coverage can include the following.
- Unforeseen expenses, ranging from overtime costs for key employees to renting temporary workspaces (note that this cost may not be addressed under property insurance).
- Consequential business income loss due to denial of access to your facility. This loss could be caused by an incident near your location that results in diminished access to your location.
- Repair of property due to damage from active shooting incident.
Other relevant insurance coverage types may be needed following a workplace violence incident, including Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), workers’ compensation, and life and accident benefits. A specialized insurance policy with embedded expert resources may prove invaluable for this scenario.
When designing this type of plan, employers should include two primary elements—a solid risk management plan (including employee training) and specialized insurance coverage.
If an Incident Occurs
There are additional resources you can lean on in the aftermath of an event. These can include counseling for employees and their families, additional security measures, and a communications plan.
With a communications plan, you should have a trained and prepared individual(s) who can relay appropriate messaging and respond to inquiries from clients and families. And if you are a high-profile company, the media.
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An act of violence in the workplace can be emotionally devastating for employees and their families. As with any insurance and risk management planning, you hope this is coverage that you will never need. However, having a proactive and comprehensive risk management plan in place will go a long way in protecting your business, and most importantly, your employees.
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