Felix Nater, President And Owner Of Nater Associates, Talks About Recent Gun Violence Tragedies And What Can Be Done

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Felix Nater, President and Owner, Nater Associates, Ltd.

What can be done?

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US, June 7, 2022 /EINPresswire.com / -- It's been a horrific period of tragic gun violence tragedies in In Uvalde, Buffalo, Oklahoma, and so many other schools, hospitals and other workplaces. What can be done? We sat down with Felix Nater, President and Owner of Nater Associates, Ltd. a human resource security management consulting practice focusing on workplace violence prevention consulting and workplace security consulting to discuss.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: Thank you for joining us again today, Felix. What a period of horrific workplace public shootings. On May 14, 2022 there was the TOPS Market Mass Shooting in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022. Then at the start of the Memorial Day weekend there was the Robb elementary School Shooting at Uvalde, Texas raising questions about the school's lock down response plans and the police department's violence response. On June 1, 2022 there was a shooting at a Oklahoma Hospital involving a distraught patient complaining of back pain following the surgery a week earlier who killed the surgeon, and 3 others. If we are keeping score, I believe the number of mass shooting to date is at 225 in the United States, if not more by this interview. What's the solution Felix? What do you see a practical approaches to reducing innocent lives caught up in these emotionally charged vendetta acts of violence? Such events must assuredly be throwing the workforce and the public into a frenzy. Not knowing neither the hour or the day of such an event makes every public place an at risk situation. As a security management consultant who specializes on workplace security with a focus on workplace violence prevention these environments are the places where employees work whether at a store, educational institution or hospital. The threat zones are employee environments and public settings for all others. The tragedy of these types of incidents is not knowing neither the hour or the day making every public place an at-risk-situation. What if any Take Aways do you have from these unfortunate situations?

Felix Nater: I can't help by starting my answer by emphasizing the importance of not taking these potential incidents for granted. An immediate Take Away is the value of training in active shooter, lock-down procedures and emergency management content that all employees need to know and should know. The million dollar question is how many other employees made it out safely because of instinct and opportunity or good active shooter training? Yes, since our workplaces are a microcosm of our society, it might not be a bad idea to properly train every employee on active shooter immediate protective measures so that whenever in any public setting their training can be summoned to reduce their risks, improve their safety, and security of others. We see in the Robb Elementary School shooting where 19 students were unnecessarily gunned down along with 2 teachers doubt about their training in emergency response procedures as well in lock down protocols. Now there's been speculation that the police department's 40 minute timeline response before containing the shooter was their failure to proper preparation. Who knows, only their investigations will determine what if anything went wrong. On the plus side, the Police response of 3 minutes in connection with the Oklahoma Hospital Shootings was commendable by comparison to the Robb Elementary School.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: In terms of specific Take Aways, are there any others you can see from this situation.

Felix Nater: Quality training is essential. You can't train enough to be psychologically and emotionally prepared so repetition and small chunks of training content will be important. We need to make certain that the workforce understands their responsibilities and that they are given time to interact with the trainers. In the Army (Army Reserves), we use the After-Action Report otherwise known as the AAR to allow Soldiers the opportunity to discuss what worked well during a training exercise or what went wrong during a combat training exercise without pointing fingers or blaming anyone for it. During training we put the content out, asked questions, restated the content and asked the Soldier again to be certain they understood. Quality training can take place without dramatizing the event. Group discussions, Tabletop exercises and simulations exercises worksite specific can help all involved relate to the content, adapt new approaches, revise existing approaches or adjust the plan. I encourage organizations to be creative and innovative in their training by designing short relative training content around the organization's past incidents or small group discussions around high profile stories in the news. Training has both immediate and long-term Return On Investment (ROI) when the adults in the workplace make a connection with their realities. Adults who understand the content are in a better position to address HOW after they learn WHY. The TOPs Supermarket showed me that there were several quick thinkers that saved their lives and possibly the lives of others by the swift actions taken.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: What about technology applications as a Take Away, could they have helped in any way?

Felix Nater: While my focus is on prevention, my risk mitigation strategy in on the thinking of how the Israeli Security Forces operate. Create concentric circles that allow them to slow the penetration and/or identify the bad guys. I believe technology can be used in similar fashion. Unlike the disgruntled current employee or former employee that transitions from disgruntled to the active shooter mindset, it can be managed some when the employer dedicates the right resources and coordinates the effort. However, like in the examples discussed today, these shooters were not known. When the employee turns to thoughts of homicidal violence and retaliation, the attack is not predictable as above, unless a coworker, friend or family member tips police off. But from a risk mitigation situation gunshot detection technology can be deployed around the parking lots and interiors to help track the gunshots and isolate the shooter's entries or movement. Video surveillance technology can also be used to track and monitor the shooter tied to gunshot detection and capabilities that lock doors keeping the shooter out of the building and alarming employees in and around the parking lot to take cover. This technology can actually give individuals time to escape and evade the shooter.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: What more can organizations do about improving their ability to protect the workforce against the threat of homicidal violence and protect themselves against the threat of negligence in safety, security management and training.

Felix Nater: I think that's a tough question but valid one. First and foremost, they need to recognize their moral, ethical and legal responsibilities in providing for a safe and secure workplace free of any recognizable hazards. They must create the time for proper training, and invest in the needed resources in support of the workplace violence prevention initiative as well as the violence response methodology. Policy, plans and procedures must be developed, supported by training and kept updated. They must integrate such emergency plans with local police departments and local hospitals. Each workplace environment should be viewed from a unique point of view and not from a cookie-cutter mentality. Don't settle for assumptions about the posture of your workplace violence prevention and violence response, retain qualified security management consultants with demonstrated expertise to support the organization's efforts. Every prevention and violence response process must begin with a critical assessment of the program, workplace and workforce. Depending on the posture of the workplace, employers should aggressively pursue development of workplace security, workplace violence prevention and violence response policies, plans, and procedures that align with other emergency management and security plans including business continuity plans. In the case of the active shooter threat alert, notification and communication is important during and after until the shooter has been contained. There has to be an integrated, collaborated and coordinated initiative undertaking.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: Thank you again for joining us today Felix - is there anything else you would like to add?

Felix Nater: No workplace or educational institution is immune from the homicidal threat of violence. However, to create the best relationships, there needs to be a paradigm shift in how the security industry positions the sale of our services and products and how workplaces and educational institutions identify and match their actual needs in procuring such services and products. I conclude by saying,“Stop being a penny wise and a pound foolish when it comes to workplace security, workplace violence and workforce protection. Don't look at it through the prism of myths and plan for reality. In the words of W. Edward Deming,“your workforce must be treated as your most precious resource”. They deserve the benefit of the doubt.

ABOUT BUFFALO SUPERMARKET SHOOTING:

Felix P. Nater, President and Owner of Nater Associates, Ltd. a human resource security management consulting practice focusing on workplace violence prevention consulting, workplace security consulting and security awareness helps manufacturing, processing, production, and utility firms implement and manage workplace security and violence prevention strategy.

Mr. Nater is a nationally recognized highly skilled Workplace Violence Prevention Advisor & Consultant retired from federal law enforcement with more than 30 years of investigative, law enforcement, program management and security experiences and 20 years working with private, public and government clients..

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