2A — May 24 - June 13, 2019 — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
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M id A tlantic R eal E state J ournal Publisher, Conference Producer . .............Linda Christman AVP, Conference Producer ...........................Lea Christman Publisher ........................................................Joe Christman Section Publisher ............................................. Steve Kelley Section Publisher ............................................... Kim Brunet Editor/Graphic Artist..... .................................Karen Vachon Office Manager ...............................................Kerrin Devine Contributing Columnist ...Raymond Willer, HF Planners, LLC Mid Atlantic R eal E state J ournal ~ Published Semi-Monthly Periodicals postage paid at Hingham, Massachusetts and additional mailing offices Postmaster send address change to: Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal 350 Lincoln St, Suite 1105, Hingham, MA 02043 USPS #22-358 | Vol. 31, Issue 8 Subscription rates: 1 year $99.00, 2 years $148.50, 3 years $247.50 & $4.00 single issue - plus postage REPORT AN ERROR IMMEDIATELY MARE Journal will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion Phone: 781-740-2900 | Fax: 781-740-2929 www.marej.com The views expressed by contributing columnists are not necessarily representative of the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
Raymond Willer
Emergency Preparedness: Implementing a Plan in Your Office Space N o environment is com- pletely safe! An unfor- tunate statement that today has never been truer. Active shooter incidents are on the rise, increasing 500% since 2000. In fact, workplace homicides reached their high- est rate in six years in 2016.* There is currently no way to predict where an active shooter event may happen. Statisti- cally, the three most common places they occur are business- es (45%), schools (25%), and government facilities (10%). However, studies have shown that they tend to focus on soft targets. Soft targets are loca- tions in which there is little to no security, open and easy access into the location, and dense groups of people.** An- other fact often overlooked is that 100% of Active Shooter Incidents are preplanned and at least one third of them are extensively planned. There is no such thing as a spontane- ous active shooter. Post-event investigations have been able to uncover the degree of plan-
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ning involved by the shooters and some of them include up to a year of preplanning, surveil- lance, weapon preparations and internet research of other active shooters and police response times. The average response time of law enforce- ment to active shooter events is approximately 3 minutes (much faster than the average for standard 911 calls). This leaves the targeted organiza- tion, on average, 3 minutes to fend for itself. The average ac- tive shooter incident lasts only five minutes, which often ends before the police arrive.*** What an organization does during those 180 seconds is crucial, but more importantly,
what it does in the preceding weeks, months and years mat- ters even more. What types of actions can those in an office environment take to make a significant impact on how its members survive the attack? Prepare, Prepare, Prepare! Today’s open office environ- ment poses significant chal- lenges in comparison to older designed environments where closed door offices existed rather than all glass walled offices surrounded by a wide array of open areas. The typi- cal mantra of Run, Hide, Fight in an active shooter incident takes on a different meaning in today’s office environment. The continued on page 4A
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