An important element of any security strategy is to create safer spaces, less vulnerable buildings and better equipt businesses to respond to such incidents. Understanding, quantifying and practically mitigating this threat is one of the key risk management challenges facing businesses today.

Insurance placements provide financial risk transfer protecting people, infrastructure and ultimately brand and reputation. The unbundled risk mitigation consultancy support enables clients to understand the potential losses and their specific exposures. All of which is designed to address active shooter/assailant attacks, facilitating clients to take a proactive stance in order to assist with delivering the following benefits.

• Greater ability to meet duty of care obligations and responsibilities, including relevant occupational health and safety legislation
• Improved understanding of the likelihood of a range of security incidents
• Enhanced reputational resilience thereby reducing business impact and improving staff retention
• Better knowledge transfer throughout the operations, improving security risk mitigation
• More robust corporate governance
• Enhanced clarification on exposure to the risks
  
  

Three phases of risk mitigation

It can sometimes be the perception that businesses and non-profit institutions are unable to effectively mitigate these kinds of incidents and realise the benefits of taking pre-emptive action. In reality there is lots that can be done. It can be useful to break this preparation down into the phases of an incident – pre-incident, during and post-incident.

1. Pre-incident - The majority of mitigation work focuses on the pre-incident space and should include:

• Reviewing and exercising plans
• Ensuring crisis communications are agreed
• Identifying lockdown procedures and understand Law Enforcement response
• Confirming information sources to monitor
• Quantifying a potential loss through egress and choke point identification modelling. We have developed remote Assailant Impact Modelling (AIM) specifically for this purpose.
  
  

2. During an incident - here your preparation comes to the fore, guided and assisted by law enforcement and expert advisers in many cases. Companies should:

• Follow national Law Enforcement guidelines - RUN, HIDE, FIGHT
• Remain flexible throughout a fast moving event
• Have an internal communication system that is both tried and tested through training
• Ensure you have practised your crisis management protocols as well as the trickle information feed
  
  

3. Post-incident - Also known as the recovery phase, this is often the longest and most neglected aspect of risk mitigation. It is important to identify and understand:

• Family liaison officers for your staff and their family members
• A communications representative
• Recognise the power and influence of social media platforms
• Enhanced media attention on the locality especially during anniversary events and memorial services

If this phase is not handled sensitively a loss of confidence at any site can have a significant business impact.