Ready to Respond – continued from page 3
can adapt the principles of this program. The program teaches officers how to detect signs that a person is moving up the violence continuum and how to respond once they become aware of a problem. The program incorporates lectures, discussions, role-playing scenarios, practical application exercises, and a final scenario of an incident in which officers use simulated firearms to respond to a workplace-violence incident. Recording the training exercise is essential to identifying strengths and weaknesses in officer performance. Trainers hold discussions with officers about what went right in addition to pointing out mistakes. Training frequently reveals that security officers need to be assigned specific roles and duties. This alleviates some of the tendency to wait for others to perform necessary tasks and prevents officers from getting in each other‘s way or arguing. A comprehensive workplace-violence prevention and response program involves a combination of physical security measures and policies and procedures. Therefore, security officers must be properly trained to handle both their daily routines and their incident- response roles.
Read more
Are Evacuation Practices Flawed? When Aaron Alexis entered the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard and began a shooting rampage, officials followed the usual protocol by evacuating, assembling, and busing hundreds of government contractors to nearby Nationals Park. However, this could have put them at risk anew if they were targeted while waiting for the buses or if the assembly point was already known to the attacker.While rallying points are accepted as a best practice, they probably shouldn‘t be, according to Felix Nater, president of Nater Associates, Ltd. The problem is that the rallying point is typically a well-advertised location, often near the facility. Anyone with bad intentions could plant a bomb there ahead of time, then create an incident inside a facility, leading everyone to where the bomb awaits their arrival. ―Why do we have to rally the people at a centralized location?‖ Nater asked. ―We‘re all adults, so why can‘t we just...go home?‖ He suggests that companies could use mass communication and notification systems not only to send employees alerts about an emergency situation but also to allow employees to let the company know they are safe. These types of notification systems help eliminate the need for rallying points, which avoids the potential vulnerability to a secondary attack that a pre- announced or highly visible assembly point can create. Some have also begun taking an App approach to emergency communications. Security professionals
need to think creatively. ―All it takes is software, and it‘s out there,‖ Nater said.
Read more
Kingston Shooting: Workplace Violence Difficult to Predict, Experts Say
Workplace violence isn‘t easy to predict, nor are there typical, ―blatant red flags‖ indicating it‘s about to unfold, area professionals say. In fact, those who commit crimes in the workplace usually don‘t fit a certain profile, according to Rosalyn Magidson, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center. The issue of workplace violence was thrust into the local spotlight by a fatal shooting at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection office in Kingston. David N. Reese is accused of killing co-worker Aron J. Thomas with a handgun. Reese has been charged with second- degree murder and is being held in the Ulster County Jail without bail. Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright has been tight-lipped about the motive for the killing and has declined to comment about the relationship between the suspect and victim. Regardless, people have been impacted by the shooting and anxieties have been raised, said Ellen Pendegar, chief executive officer at the Mental Health Association in Ulster County. ―We should be alert and ready, willing and able to speak to someone,‖ Pendegar said. ―It‘s almost like New York City. If you see something, say or do something.‖ Magidson said this is a good time for companies to reevaluate their workplace conflict policies. ―The best approach is a zero-tolerance policy for the organization, and training for the employees, including communication, conflict resolution training and how to deal with difficult individuals,‖ she said.
Read more
5 Steps for Successful Lockdown Procedures Access control is the most critical aspect of any organization‘s safety strategy. It‘s the way that an organization manages credentials and the access and egress of staff and visitors on a daily basis. Beyond access control, every organization should have a lockdown strategy which determines the state of each opening of the building, both on demand or as soon as an emergency is detected. Effective lockdown strategies are defined by two critical aspects: 1. Every facility can be broken down into unique security zones. Within each zone are openings that have unique requirements relative to the spaces they provide egress to and from in emergency situations. 2. An organization‘s ability to activate lockdown is dependent on the method of access control and the role people play in that process. Protocol must be clearly
continued on page 5 4
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27