An active shooter scenario will happen within a matter of minutes, and that’s why businesses in Alexandria, VA should consider workplace readiness before anything else happens.
Active shooter readiness is more than just having a plan in case something happens. A full-scale workplace safety policy can include many aspects such as employee awareness, emergency action plan, workplace violence prevention, threat reporting, communication, and collaboration with professional security personnel and first responders.
For businesses in Alexandria and Northern Virginia, workplace readiness and review of security policies may become an integral part of protection and business continuit
What Is Active Shooter Training?
Active shooter training helps prepare employees on how to behave in case of an active shooter attack or other violent scenarios.
Depending on the organization, workplace readiness may cover such aspects as:
- Identification of threatening behavior
- Threat reporting
- Emergency notifications
- Evacuation procedure
- Shelter and lockdown procedure
- Communication during an emergency situation
- Coordination with law enforcement
- What to expect from first responders
- Post-incident actions
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offers ready-to-use resources regarding active shooter readiness for businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and other organizations.
CISA Active Shooter Preparedness Resources
The purpose of preparedness is not to create fear but to give people more information about their actions and options in a rapidly changing situation.
Why Active Shooter Readiness is Important for Alexandria Business
Alexandria is part of the broader Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that includes corporate offices, government organizations, professional firms, retail stores, communities, schools, and public facilities.
Every business has its own security needs.
For instance, a small professional office will need only an emergency plan and an awareness program for employees.
A large corporate complex will need a more detailed security policy that will include access control, threat assessment, emergency communication, training for the staff, and professional security assistance.
What matters is the size of your facility, its location, workforce, building, operating schedule, visitor flow, threat environment, and current security policy.
Difference Between Active Shooter Readiness and Workplace Violence Prevention
These are two similar yet not identical concepts.Active Shooter Training
It aims at preparing individuals to respond to an active shooter or any other kind of violent emergencies.
Workplace Violence Prevention
It takes a wider view regarding identification, reporting and handling of any potential threat before it escalates.
Workplace violence prevention could entail:
- Threat Reporting
- Employee Concerns
- Disgruntled Employees
- Former Employees
- High Risk Terminations
- Threatening Communications
- Conflict Escalation
- Security Assessments
Emergency Planning
Therefore, when you integrate preparedness into your broader workplace violence prevention program, then you develop a stronger security program.
What Should an Alexandria Business Consider in its Emergency Action Plan?
An effective emergency action plan would be addressing practical issues prior to any emergencies.
Who will receive the emergency notifications?
Employees must know how the emergency notifications will be made.
Who is supposed to activate the emergency plan?
The business organizations should appoint responsible persons for such tasks and not determining their role in the time of crisis.
Where will employees go?
The employees should be informed about the evacuation plans and safer locations.
How will visitors be taken care of?
There should be a consideration on how to handle visitors and contractors in case of emergencies.
How will employees communicate?
There must be proper ways through which the employees will communicate and reliable sources of information too.
How will the organization cooperate with the first responders?
Emergency plans must provide coordination between the security staff and first responders among others.
The CISA provides useful materials for businesses when drafting and improving their emergency action plans.
Review the CISA Emergency Action Planning Resources
What Should Employees Know In An Active Shooter Emergency?
All emergencies are different and employees must follow organization emergency procedures.
The Federal Government guidance on preparing for emergencies uses Run, Hide, Fight methodology.
Run
If it is possible to safely exit from the area then leave.
Hide
If exiting the area is not safe then seek a safer place that makes it harder for an attacker to reach you.
Fight
This might be required as a last resort.
Official preparedness guidelines of CISA describe these response options and explain that the situations are unpredictable.
Learn about CISA’s Active Shooter Preparedness Information
What About Workplace Violence in Alexandria?
Active shooter preparedness should be part of a comprehensive workplace violence program.
A company can identify warning signs well before the situation becomes an emergency.
For instance, an organization will need procedures for addressing:
- Threatening messages
- Escalation of workplace conflict
- Threats made by employees
- Threats from ex-employees
- High risk termination of employment
- Conduct concerns
- Threats to executives
- Threats against organizational property
The aim here is not to label or profile your employees. Rather, the idea is to establish processes for identifying and addressing conduct concerns in a professional manner.
High Risk Employee Termination
Sometimes termination of employment might generate security concerns where the history includes threats, aggressive behavior or workplace conflict.
Instead of trying to react to a situation after termination, companies should prepare for such termination in advance.
In accordance with the situation the preparations could include:
- Management coordination
- HR representatives
- Security personnel
- Procedures for securing access to the facility
- Communication plans
- Emergency contacts
- Professional security assistance
Specifically Tullis Worldwide Protection mentions workplace violence and high risk employee situations as corporate security solutions provided by the company.
Learn About Corporate Security at Tullis Worldwide Protection
When Should an Alexandria Business Look to Professional Corporate Security Help?
While training the workforce is important, there are occasions when special security knowledge is needed.
Some instances where professional assistance may be considered include:
- A valid threat
- An employee termination that involves risk
- Repetitive threatening incidents
- Threats to a corporate executive
- A high profile corporate event
- VIP visitors
- A sensitive corporate meeting
- Facility related security issues
- A case where executive protection is needed
At Tullis Worldwide Protection, we offer personalized corporate security and executive protection services across Virginia and beyond.
Learn More About Tullis Worldwide Protection
Active Shooter Preparedness for Northern Virginia Businesses
Since a business in Alexandria could have its staff and executives traveling throughout Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., security preparation must take into account more than just the physical office space.
A corporate security evaluation could include:
- Office locations
- Staff activities
- Executives’ travel
- Corporate events
- Visitors
- Communication
- Workplace violence
- Existing security processes
For companies that have executives or other highly visible individuals, then their corporate security and executive protection will have to coordinate.
Learn About Executive Protection Services
How Often Should Active Shooter Training Be Done?
There is no universal timeline that will suit every company.
Companies should evaluate their preparedness when:
- There are new employees
- There are changes in facilities
- There are changes in office design
- There are changes in emergency plans
- There are new security concerns
- There are new risks
- Lessons have been learned from drills or incidents
Companies should also make sure that their training is clear and suitable for their staff.
FAQs
Does active shooter training exist in Alexandria, VA?
Organizations located in Alexandria can use federal and state preparedness programs in order to create employee awareness and emergency response plans. Additionally, organizations can consult qualified security experts in order to determine other workplace security needs.
Is active shooter training mandatory for companies in Virginia?
Depending on the kind of organization and specific legislation, the answer to this question may differ. Instead of applying one set of requirements to all workplaces, companies should look at the requirements that are relevant to them specifically.
What is the difference between active shooter training and workplace violence training?
Active shooter training concentrates mainly on the preparedness for an active violent incident. In contrast, workplace violence prevention includes identification, reporting, assessment and management of possible threats.
Is there anything corporate security can do about workplace violence prevention?
Yes. Corporate security can become a part of a workplace violence prevention plan in case of high-risk situation when there are employees, former employees, executives, facilities or events.
Does Tullis offer corporate security in Alexandria, Virginia?
Tullis Worldwide Protection offers corporate security services, and claims that their services are available in Virginia and even beyond.
Contact Tullis Worldwide Protection
Preparation Before a Crisis Occurs
The right time to evaluate workplace security policies is when there are no crises happening yet.
For the companies in Alexandria, Virginia, active shooter preparedness can be one of the many aspects of a workplace security plan, which may also include such elements as workplace violence prevention, threat assessments, emergency plans, employee education and professional security.
Each business entity has specific risks and therefore needs unique preparedness based on its own people, facilities and other aspects of the company’s activities.
In case your company evaluates the workplace security needs, Tullis Worldwide Protection can assist in assessing proper protection and security measures for your organization.
Contact Tullis Worldwide Protection About Your Security Needs