Departments in Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, along with many others around the country have all hosted training exercises in recent weeks as departments and schools prepare for the 2022-2023 school year in the wake of the most recent tragedies. These trainings involve law enforcement agencies, teachers, and other school personnel intended to both rehearse and refine safety plans.
As departments renew their focus on training, non-law enforcement personnel including parents, teachers, school and business leaders, and individuals within many communities are also looking for resources to help them to prepare themselves to know what to do in an active shooter situation. Often, law enforcement agencies are the first place these civilians contact to find suitable training options.
Training for non-law enforcement personnel should be structured differently to speak to the concerns of this audience and educate them on how they can best work to keep themselves safe and help law enforcement personnel respond to a situation.
Active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, so individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation.
Here are 4 resources law enforcement agencies can use to educate civilians in how they can prepare for the potential of an active shooter situation:
1. “ALERRT” Civilian Response
The “ALERRT” program at Texas State University is considered the “national standard” in the field by the FBI. Their website offers a “train the trainer” class for law enforcement personnel providing training courses for civilians. Information on this class can be found on their “Civilian Response” page.
2. FEMA Emergency Management Institute
FEMA provides an online course through its Emergency Management Institute that can assist law enforcement officers in instructing the general public on this topic. Click here for information on this 1-hour online course.
3. DHS Active Shooter Preparedness Workshop
DHS also provides Active Shooter Preparedness Workshop resources through the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
4. “Any Time, Any Place: Active Shooter Situations” from LAW Publications
LAW Publications’ journal “Any Time, Any Place: Active Shooter Situations” is a physical publication that can be used as a take-home guide for participants. It’s a great tool to complement any programming and instruction on the topic.
Here at LAW Publications, we believe in the power of education and preparation to allow the community to stay as safe as possible and work with law enforcement to prevent crime.
Our journal titled, “Any Time, Any Place: Active Shooter Situations,” is a guide for law enforcement agencies to use in training the decision-makers, educators, parents, HR professionals, and team leaders in their community on how to prepare and respond if they find themselves in an active shooter situation.