Law Enforcement and EMS Response to Active Shooters
The Columbine (Colorado) High School shooting in 1999 changed the active school shooter response forever. Fifteen people, including the perpetrators died in that event. The shooters, students at the school, committed suicide after killing 12 students and a teacher. Previous to that incident law enforcement typically assembled the available personnel and made a tactical entry of some sort. As we have studied school shootings since then, it has become apparent that shooters often attack until stopped with the intent of killing and terrorizing as many people as possible. Our tactical response must consider these realities and adjust the law enforcement response accordingly.
What is the future of school safety? Many have suggested “hardening the target” by installing shatterproof glass, metal detectors, arming teachers, and banning backpacks. Still others want the focus on gun control measures and mental health considerations. School safety has morphed into a $2.7 billion industry in 2019. While school officials admit that simple measures such as lockdown drills, evacuation strategies, and easily secured doors are the most effective measures, fear often drives the school safety process. Without a doubt, we need to provide a safe environment for our children to learn and prepare for their lives, but there is little agreement on how that will be accomplished. Ultimately, the law enforcement response must support the goals of school administrators and promote safety for responders as well as students.
In a 2014 report, the Police Response to Active Shooter Incidents, the authors examined 84 active shooter incidents between 2000-2014. In roughly half of the incidents, the police response ended the crisis. The attacker committed suicide in just under half of all other events. In the wake of recent school shootings, notably in Parkland, Florida, the law enforcement response is often scrutinized closely. Discuss the idea that solo entries should be initiated in all school shootings. Over 50% of the time when an officer makes a solo entry, the scene is still active. Further, nearly one-third of the officers who made solo entries during an incident were shot. Consider whether this is a viable option to mitigate injury and loss of life or if it is madness and needs to be avoided at all costs.
What are the critical issues related to the law enforcement and EMS response to active shooters?
Should officers be trained in triage and immediate lifesaving techniques to avoid the necessity to clear a scene prior to permitting EMS to respond?
Should academy training be revamped to include more specific actions related to active shooter situations in schools, including solo entries?
Justify and support your positions and arguments from the literature.
References
Critical Issues in Policing Series: The police response to active shooters (2014). Police Executive
Research Forum, 1-60.
Heisler, A. (2018). Billions have been spent on school safety, but is it working? Risk and
Insurance. https://riskand insurance.com
Active Shooter Paper
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What are the critical issues related to law enforcement and EMS response to active shooters?
One of the critical issues associated with law enforcement in the United States (U.S.) relates to officer training, as they are required to neutralize the shooter before taking measures to attend to the injured or the victims. Most citizens believe it is psychologically complex and unfair for the police officer to pass over the injured victims in the disguise of neutralizing the active shooter. But ideally, stopping the killings is the primary goal of the police officer. Emphasizing neutralizing the shooter rather than attending to the injured is necessary to prevent more harm or deaths (Scott & Schwartz, 2014). The emergency medical services (EMS) rules are tailored to prevent individuals from entering scenes that are not secure. However, during active shootings, many people call police officers seeking help, including providing several descriptions of the perpetrator. Active shooting incidents subject law enforcers to critical scenarios since they must choose between abiding by the EMS laws or saving lives by subduing the shooter (Klassen et al., 2019).
Considering that the police officer goes straight to the shooting location based on the descriptions and stops killings, this is possible that it might not match the ones provided by different callers. In this context, the law enforcer is put in a challenging situation to establish whether or not there could be another shooter within the location. It follows then that unclear information could culminate in delays in the life-saving efforts of law enforcement officers. Accordingly, the small number of police agencies to assist during active shooting constitutes another critical issue. Lack of enough personnel subjects police departments to neutralize shooting incidents as solo officers rather than as a group (Scott & Schwartz, 2014). In contexts where the situation escalates, the backup could delay by half an hour, which hinders the effectiveness of life-saving missions during the active shooting incident.
Should officers be trained in triage and immediate lifesaving techniques to avoid the necessity to clear a scene prior to permitting EMS to respond?
The goals of EMS and law enforcement officers might conflict while they are at the crime scene. However, police officers should be trained in immediate life-saving approaches and triage to avoid the need to clear the scene before EMS responds. Their initial responsibility should entail mitigating potential risks and threats to the public (Price & O'Neill, 2018). Training officers in triage would ensure collaborative service between police and mental health professionals to offer emergency treatment and recovery ...