Margolis Healy Active Shooter Exercise presentation at the 2013 South Carolina Campus Law Enforcement Conference

1. Active Shooter
Developing a Live Exercise

2. Twitter
@margolishealy

3. Slideshare.net
www.slideshare.net/margolisheal
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4. Agenda
• Goals
• Pre-Event Planning
• Training
• Logistics
• Collaboration
• Lessons Learned

5. GOALS

6. Goals of Exercise
• Coordinate response between campus public
safety and local first responders
• Understand deployment of tactical unit
• Train campus public safety
• Facilitate development of individual campus unit
safety plans
• Exercise ICS at policy and ops levels
• Safety

7. Goals of Exercise
“The 4 D’s”
•Develop Incident Action Plan
•Develop Trust with Campus
Leadership
•Develop Confidence
(internal/external)
•Develop Partnerships

8. News Story (WCAX)

9. What do we know...
•Active shooter scenarios last, on average,
between 4 - 7 minutes
•Occur in daytime
•First responders are the line staff, not the
tactical units
•Multiple responding agencies
•Mass confusion

10. PRE-EVENT
PLANNING

11. Pre-Event Planning
•Script Considerations
•Communications with
-Institutional leadership
-Media
-Deans, Directors & Dept. Heads
-Faculty, Staff & Students

12. Pre-Event Planning
•Campus Forums
•Local, State, Federal Agencies
•Policy Review
-Use of Force
-ICS
-Mutual Aid

13. Pre-Event Planning
• Active Shooter vs. Hostage
• Venue Selection (and notification)
- High Risk Areas
- Res Halls
- Admin Buildings
- Student Unions and Classrooms

14. Sample Communication
December 8, XXXX
To: XXXX Building Faculty & Staff
From: Chief Jane Doe
Re: Police Training Exercise
On Monday, January 8, XXXX between 9AM and 12PM, ABC Police Services will conduct a live training exercise with the City Police
and State Police Tactical Support Unit (TSU) in XXX Building. We chose XXX Building because of the locus of administrative and
student service offices and its history as a focal point for dissent and disruption. This live training exercise focuses on ABC and City
Police response to an “active shooter” and hostage scenario. The officers will apply dynamic approach and entry techniques learned from
the State Police TSU on January 4 and 5 in training conducted in Williams Hall.
This exercise is closely supervised and controlled. No live ammunition will be allowed in the building during the training. Safety
officers will be in place to monitor and we are posting ample signage and greeters. This will disrupt business on the first floor for the
morning so please plan accordingly.
We chose these dates because they are during semester break and we forecast less activity in the building. This is a great opportunity for
those of you at work these days to observe how we train police to address these concerns, and to re-visit the conversation on safety during
emergent crisis.
Please share this information with any person(s) you feel should know including students who may be around during the break and
vendors who deliver goods and services to the building. We recognize that seeing this many police officers in one place without knowing
the context could be un-nerving. We will send out a campus-wide email prior to the event.
I will be available on Wednesday, January 3 at 10:30AM in the XXX Memorial Lounge to answer any questions and address last-minute
concerns. In advance, don’t hesitate to contact me directly at _____________________. Thank you.

15. Sample Communication
December 19, XXXX
To: 3rd Floor XXX Building
From: Chief Jane Doe
Re: Additional Information on January 8, XXXX Police Training Exercise
Please take into account the following information when planning your work day on Monday, January 8, XXXX.
While the exercise is under way (9:00AM – 11:30AM) you will not be able to move through the 3rd Floor Hallways. If you must be sequestered in
your offices this particular morning, DO NOT access the hallways. We suggest that you find other places to conduct business on this date and
time.
 No one will be allowed onto the 3rd Floor once this exercise commences.
 Safety Officers identified with fluorescent vests will be present to control access and ensure safety.
 There will be loud noises.
 There will be no live ammunition involved in this exercise or allowed in the building.
There will be a final informational session on Wednesday, January 3rd from 10:30AM – 11:30AM in Memorial Lounge.
Please make appropriate accommodations for Monday, January 8, XXXX from 9:00AM – 11:30AM in order to minimize disruption to your
operations. We hope you’ll use this opportunity to develop your own business continuity plans and we appreciate your support and understanding
as we train on this important topic, which we pray we never have to actually respond to.

16. TRAINING

17. Training
• ICS/NIMS (7 Critical Tasks)
• Policy Review
• Rapid Response Team Deployment
- Room Entry / Clearing
- Stairs and Hallways
- Classroom followed by Practical

18. Training
• Safety, Safety, Safety
-Fire & EMS on-site
• Securing the venue
-Weapons
-Controlled Access
-Communications to Campus

19. Training
•Dispatchers Involvement
•Noise, Distractions and
Confusion
•Use of Simunitions/Airsoft
-Compatibility with surrounding
agency
-Implications of training gear

20. Training
•Leadership Considerations:
Integration & Battle Command
Hand-Off
•Emergency Operations Group
-Creating a timeline
-Communications/Organization/ICS
•Policy Group

21. Training
•A tool for individual department
business continuity planning...
•Crime Scene Management
•Further live exercise planning
•Hostage Negotiators

22. LOGISTICS

23. Logistics
•Role players
•Evaluators
•Safety Officers
•Scribes (for real time recording)
•Campus notification
•Equipment

24. Logistics
•The Script (no surprises!)
•Communications
-Area Agencies
-Media
-Building Signage

25. Logistics
•Staging area for actual, real time
deployment of resources
-Calculating dispatch & arrival times
-Controlled release
•Safe Zones
•Out of Bounds Zones

27. Media Relations
• As an exercise for media...
• Staging
• Filming the training
- Tactics considerations
- Public Relations considerations
- Access considerations

28. COLLABORATION

29. Collaboration
•Tactical Support Units
•Local Public Safety
(Police/Fire/EMS)
•Media
•Campus Departments

30. LESSONS LEARNED

31. Lessons Learned
1. Equipment Compatibility
2. Mixed Team Deployment
3. Command and Communications
4. Seven Critical Tasks & ICS
5. Plain Clothes Officers Responding
6. Confusion and Collapsing

32. Lessons Learned
7. Don’t Assume Buy-In
a. Staff
b. Other agencies
c. Administration

33. Major Lessons Learned
1.Plainclothes police officers responding to such an incident
MUST wear their uniform jackets with arm patches and
insignia.
2.Use of Incident Command System allowed for rapid
deployment of tactical unit and integration into campus response.
3.The Rapid Deployment Training (including use of Rescue
Teams) that all campus police officers and city police officers
went through in the days prior to the exercise proved essential to
our coordinated response.
4.We were well prepared by having our Policy Group (i.e.,
Senior Institutional Leadership) and the Emergency Operations
Group fully familiar with ICS and its application. They
participated in the exercise.

34. Contact Information
www.margolishealy.com
866-817-5817