Workplace Shootings: The Three Ps

It’s a possibility that unfortunately cannot be discounted. With that in mind, the author of this TGC article identifies three essential components of a strategy to address it: preparation, prevention and protection Among the specific recommendations is that employers integrate Homeland Security’s guidelines for responding to active shooter events (“run-hide-fight”) into standardized company policies. Employees, he says, should be trained and drilled on these and other protocols, including evacuation and lockdown. Other recommendations address what are in some ways more problematic issues: What can be done if nothing especially untoward has occurred, but for various reasons an employee has been identified as “a person of interest?” Implementing violence prevention measures while still respecting the dignity and civil liberties of employees is a difficult balancing act. Keeping “the three Ps” in mind will help.