Every business leader needs to think about how their security system will respond to an active shooter. Do they have the appropriate security measures set up? By using integrated technology, enterprises can initiate critical communications, enact damage control, and get outside assistance on their premises in a timely manner. There are three crucial security measures to consider when creating an active shooter plan.
Step 1: Implement Rapid Response Technology
During an active shooter situation, fast response from authorities and rescuers is imperative. To ensure help is on the way as soon as possible, business leaders should use rapid response technology to notify authorities as well as warn those on the location to take protective measures.
Rapid response technology and strategies feature:
- Shooter detection technology that automatically detects gunshots using acoustic and infrared verification. It allows businesses to respond faster, potentially saving lives. Businesses should seek out providers who offer a 100% guarantee of no false alarms, as not all active shooter systems are created equally.
- Critical communications systems, such as IP call stations, mass notifications systems, IP intercoms and other VOIP systems that individuals can use if regular phone lines are down or circuits are busy. In the event of an active shooter, contact with first responders must be made immediately.
- Regular active shooter training, which should be held as often as fire drills, and more if you’re in a particularly high-risk industry such as government services or education. Planning these drills requires consulting with a specialist in active shooter scenarios because they differ significantly from fire or natural disaster evacuations plans.
Step 2: Restrict Shooter Movements with Basic Barricade Updates
By restricting a shooter’s ability to move through a building, businesses reduce the intruder’s access to those in hiding. Shooters often have detailed knowledge of the businesses of the buildings they plan to attack, which is why it’s especially important to place obstacles strong enough to resist both planning and brute force.
Businesses can fortify their barricades with:
- Security glass, which can keep perpetrators from shooting their way through windows and doors.
- Metal doors that prevent shooters from being able to fire their way through and delay their movements through the building.
- Access control systems, especially those that use magnetic locks to block off areas of the building immediately. This gives individuals time to escape while restricting the shooter’s movements.
Step 3: Use Integrated Technology to Respond to an Active Shooter
An integrated security system will make a massive difference once law enforcement and emergency medical services (EMS) arrive. Real-time video surveillance can give law enforcement an edge by allowing them to monitor a shooter’s movements. This can save lives and speed the shooter’s capture. EMS can use live video to identify injured people and aid them quickly.
By integrating all technology within a single security system, businesses can not only monitor everyone in the building but also send them emergency notifications. This allows them to receive instructions and information and to know that help is on the way. Integrated systems help expedite responses and improve the ability of police to apprehend these individuals quickly. As these perpetrators who commit these crimes become more sophisticated, it is imperative to respond with an equally advanced security system.
To get help strengthening businesses security system, call 3Sixty Integrated. We design and maintain systems that detect and help you respond to active shooters. To have us build one for your business, call us at (210) 545-1770, or fill out our contact form.