Assessing Vulnerabilities to Enhance Security

A risk assessment that identifies potential acts of violence, develops planning scenarios, and identifies vulnerabilities of people, property, and operations are parts of a comprehensive preparedness program.

Scenarios should take into consideration the potential locations and timing when an act of violence could occur. Vulnerable times are when large numbers of persons arrive and at the end of the day when most leave. Scheduled special events when large numbers of persons congregate should be carefully planned, and awareness of spontaneous demonstrations is imperative.

The risk assessment should evaluate the ability to detect threats and acts of violence, alert first responders, and warn people to take protective action. The adequacy of, and vulnerabilities or weaknesses in, prevention, deterrence and protection should be evaluated and mitigated to the extent feasible.

The risk assessment should evaluate the following:

• Site location, layout, and building exterior
• Building design and layout including egress routes and areas of refuge
• Surveillance, alerting, warning, communications, and protection systems
• Physical and operational security
• Employee risk factors including travel to, and work at, off-site locations
• Human resources policies and procedures
• Workplace violence prevention program
• Emergency planning for acts of violence including coordination with law enforcement
• Employee and responder training and drills and responder exercises

Read the Preparedness Bulletin: Acts of Violence for a comprehensive planning guide that includes:

• Defining the Problem: Threats & Acts of Violence
• Conducting a Risk Assessment to Identify Vulnerabilities & Planning Scenarios
• Actions to Prevent or Deter Acts of Violence
• Emergency Planning to Protect Life & Property
• Business Continuity & Recovery
• Program Implementation: Establishing a Capability to Protect Life & Property
• Resources for Risk Assessment, Prevention, Deterrence & Plan Development.

Check out our Preparedness Bulletins for guidance on risk assessment, business impact analysis, supply chain risk, protective actions for life safety, acts of violence, hurricane preparedness, flood preparedness, thunderstorms, lightning, and tornadoes, winter preparedness, and auditing your preparedness program.

Also, check out the links to preparedness resources on the internet. This curated list is well organized to provide you with a one stop location for valuable information.

Acts of Violence Statistics

Active shooter incidents in the United States from 2000-2013 took the lives of 486 people with 557 wounded (1). The majority of these incidents occurred in commerce/business and educational occupancies. The specter of terrorism has intensified in recent years as ISIS inspired individuals perpetrate acts of violence in the United States, Europe, and around the world. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 there have been 276 terrorist incidents in the United States resulting in 124 fatalities and 580 injuries. (2) As significant as these casualty statistics are, 417 work-related homicides occurred in the United States in 2015. (3)

Statistically, workplace violence claims 50 times more victims than terrorism or active shooter incidents.

The specter of violence includes terrorism, bomb threats, suspicious packages, workplace violence, domestic violence perpetrated in the workplace, protests, civil disturbances, abduction, and kidnapping. Read Preparedness, LLC’s comprehensive paper on acts of violence. It defines the problem, and provides guidance for the different acts of violence. Risk assessment, physical/operational security, prevention/deterrence, protective actions, continuity/recovery, and program implementation are addressed. Risk managers, human resources professionals, EH&S professionals, facilities managers, and security managers each have a role in preparedness.

http://preparednessllc.com/assets/preparedness_bulletin_acts_of_violence.pdf

1. Blair, J. Pete, and Schweit, Katherine W. A Study of Active Shooter Incidents, 2000 - 2013. Texas State University and Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C., 2014

2.  Global Terrorism Database, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, A Center of Excellence of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740 available at http://www.start.umd.edu/

3. Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2015, U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, December 16, 2016

March 30 Webinar: Basics of Business Continuity and IT Disaster Recovery

Prepare your organization for all types of disasters Thursday, March 30th The Basics of Business Continuity and IT Disaster Recovery Donald Schmidt, CEO of Preparedness LLC, shares valuable knowledge gained over years consulting, teaching, and service as Chair of the NFPA 1600 committee. This event is free.  Register Now

Webinar Invitation: Basics of Business Continuity and IT Disaster Recovery

You’re invited to attend this webinar hosted by the Safety+Ready Institue on March 30 at 1:00 PM EST.

 

This 60-minute webinar will cover the following:

 

• Identify potential hazards that could disrupt your business or damage the reputation of your organization. This includes identifying those with highest probability of occurring with the greatest impact.
• Implement a comprehensive program to address risk mitigation and hazard response and recovery. This includes the program elements in international standard NFPA 1600.
• Understand the key components of a comprehensive emergency management/business continuity program. This includes program management, planning, implementation, training and education, tests and exercises, and improvement planning.
• Identify free resources to support the development and implementation of your program.

 

An updated edition of the very popular “Emergency Management, Business Continuity, and Crisis Management Self-Assessment Checklist” will be available at that time.

 

Click here for information on the webinar; and click here to register.

 

The Safe+Ready Institute and I hope you will join us.

Curated List of Hundreds of Links to Program Development Resources

No matter your job responsibilities, access to good information is imperative. A quick "Google" search returns thousands of links. Which one of the links on the dozens of pages presented will meet your needs? Wouldn't a curated list of links be helpful? Of course!

Over the years of educating graduate students and teaching professional development courses, we have fielded many requests for information. Born from those requests and just updated with the release of our new website is a compilation of hundreds of links. Organized into a more visual, and user-friendly format, we hope that you can easily find the information you need.

The subject matter covers the wide spectrum of PREPAREDNESS: safeguarding lives, protecting property, minimizing business interruption, and protecting reputations. Here are the categories:

• Laws & Regulations
• Codes & Standards
• Professional Practices
• Government Agencies
• NGOs
• Lessons Learned & Case Studies
• Periodicals
• Resource Management & Buyers Guides
• Risk Assessment
• Loss Prevention & Hazard Mitigation
• Emergency Management
• Business Continuity & IT Disaster Recovery
• Crisis Management
• Recovery
• Incident Management
• Education & Training, Drills & Exercises

Click here to go to the list.

New Preparedness, LLC Website Launched

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Preparedness, LLC website. The mobile-friendly site still includes hundreds of links to preparedness resources (all verified or updated) as well as new and revised Preparedness Bulletins to help with the development, implementation, and evaluation of your emergency management, business continuity, and crisis management programs.

Since the organization of the website has changed, may we suggest you update your bookmarks and links to the page.

Please send us your suggestions for new links and subjects for future Preparedness Bulletins.

2013 Edition of NFPA 1600 Close to Publication

The 2013 edition of NFPA 1600, "Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs" is complete. NFPA did not receive any "Notices of Intent To Make A Motion" (NITMAM), which would have required action at NFPA's annual meeting. Therefore, NFPA 1600-2013 will be approved by NFPA's Standards Council on or about November 27, 2012. The 2013 edition should become available in December or January.

If you would like to preview the 2013 edition, you can review the "Report on Comments" draft that was developed at the technical committee meeting March 20-22, 2012. You can monitor the progress of the technical committee by visiting the NFPA website.

Numerous resources pertaining to NFPA 1600 “Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs” can be found on the “NFPA 1600” page of the Preparedness, LLC website.

Donald L. Schmidt, ARM, CBCP, CBCLA, CEM® is the chair of NFPA’s Technical Committee on Emergency Management and Business Continuity, which is responsible for NFPA 1600. Mr. Schmidt has been involved in the development of every edition of NFPA 1600. He is the editor of “Implementing NFPA 1600 National Preparedness Standard," and he is also the lead instructor for NFPA’s professional development course on NFPA 1600.