Pre-Conference Courses

Sunday, September 8, 2019

8:00am - 5:00pm

Active shooter incidents are high-risk, high-stakes events that, without warning, can cause devastating consequences in just a few brief moments. For all facets of public safety, including communications, there are a host of issues that make responding to an active shooter incident more difficult than many other armed subject calls.

These types of incidents have been increasing in frequency. Shooters have a wider range of more powerful weapons available. The motivations behind these incidents continue to grow more complex. As with any other type of emergency situation, the telecommunicator plays a vital role in the response to active shooter incidents.

Telecommunicators need to be aware of the unique challenges posed by active shooter incidents and be prepared to address them well in advance. This course looks at the role of the telecommunicator through all stages of an active shooter incident.

This course is built on the experiences of frontline telecommunicators who have worked active shooter incidents. Upon their recommendation, the course is structured along the arc of events that happen before, during and after an active shooter incident. The goal of the course is to educate telecommunicators about the intricate issues and challenges posed by active shooter incidents, including preparedness for an incident, response to an incident and the role the telecommunicator plays following an incident.

Topics include:

• Overview of incidents, perpetrators and targets
• Phases of an active shooter incident
• Getting and handling calls reporting an incident
• Dispatch and ongoing communications
• Responder safety and secondary dangers
• Handling calls from victims trapped in the incident
• Telecommunicators’ role post-incident: rescue and extraction
• Recovery from an incident: impact and stress, ongoing issues