July 2007

WHEN VIOLENCE STRIKES

Consider this nightmare scenario: With little or no warning, a gunman enters your building and begins shooting. How do your employees respond? Should they stay put or run? Who do they call, if they can manage to call out? How do you inform personnel who have yet to arrive that they should stay away?

The first step is to form a team that will develop a crisis response plan and direct regular practice drills (similar to fire drills) in which personnel are notified of an intruder and coached to respond accordingly. The team should include local emergency response teams so that they’re familiar with your building.

You’ll also need to keep your employees updated with a crisis communication plan that includes designated contacts in all departments. Employees should know who to contact — usually a corporate security officer — if they suspect another employee is exhibiting suspicious or dangerous behavior.

As we saw with the Virginia Tech shooting, media coverage of violent incidents can be overwhelming. To ensure a consistent and unified response by the organization, designate specific employees as media contacts.

You can get help in developing a crisis intervention plan from a variety of resources:

• The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides these risk communication resources for disasters and emergencies:
  • "Communicating in the First Hours: Initial Communication with the Public During a Potential Terrorism Event"
  • "Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Reference Guide for Media"
  • "Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Field Guide for Media"