Prepare Your Credit Union for an Active Shooter

Most of the time, active shooters enter through the front door – angry and explosive. Now, consider your credit union branches: Where to hide or where to flee may not be obvious or easily accessible. While the money you’re entrusted with may be safe and secure, in a violent situation, your members and staff may not be.

When or where an active shooter incident will occur is often unpredictable. Does your staff know what to do if someone is wielding a weapon and starts shooting?

Active Shooter Planning Is Not Optional

In 2015, CU Times published “Active Shooters: 6 Mistakes Credit Unions Make.” The tips have stood the test of time:

• Robbery training is not the same as active shooter training;
• Branches do not offer the same exit options as offices;
• Security varies;
• There isn’t time to hide in the vault;
• Practicing for fires and tornadoes may happen more readily; and
• Active shooter planning is not optional.

The number of active shooter incidents – when someone attempts to kill others in mass numbers with a firearm – is significantly on the rise. The FBI defines an active shooter as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”

Recent stats of active shooting incidents remain staggering and especially concerning to businesses. This only underscores the importance of preparation for your credit union. Knowing what to do before, during and after an attack can save lives and the reputation of your credit union. Here are some best practices for each phase of your active shooter preparedness strategy.

Before Incident: Staff Training

Employees must be equipped with appropriate training and tools to respond to an active shooter. Train regularly and ensure every staff member learns the fundamentals on how to respond. While all credit unions would probably state that the safety and security of staff, members and its community are top priorities, executives at the $1.3 billion Rivermark Community Credit Union in Beaverton, Ore., are turning that priority into reality. For Rivermark, it’s not just lip service.

Rivermark recently took a proactive approach by training its leadership team and staff at their branches to handle an active shooter incident by participating in the Active Shooter Preparedness Training offered by ReputationUs, a reputation management and crisis mitigation firm specializing in credit unions. The training offers practical and actionable measures to respond to an aggressor situation.

“In addition to greater awareness on best practices, the Active Shooter Preparedness training allowed us to improve our crisis communications plan by further identifying key decision makers and responsible parties in what can be a fluid and fast-moving event,” Seth Schaefer, president/CEO of Rivermark, said.

While a professional training program customized for your credit union offers the soundest approach to preparing for an active shooter, several online resources may offer a useful starting place. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration suggests developing a thorough Emergency Operation Plan prior to an incident occurring.

Principles of FEMA’s National Incident Management System may also be helpful in enabling your crisis team to identify common terminology, assign roles and define responsibilities. Additionally, the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has a template to help you create an active shooter emergency action plan.

The FBI offers several training videos to help safety leaders and employees understand how to best protect themselves during an active shooter event. The United States Department of Homeland Security also provides a booklet for understanding these events and ways they can be managed and averted.

During Incident: Run. Hide. Fight.

During an active shooter scenario, the FBI recommends three strategies in this order – run, hide and fight. Personally escaping the situation should always be the first course of action for everyone. An active shooter training at your credit union should focus on identifying evacuation routes at every branch. Practicing drills with an outside training group can help minimize panic among staff.

If staff can’t escape, train them where to shelter in a secure hiding place inside the branch. A room without windows with a door that can be securely locked is ideal. Staff should remain there until law enforcement tells them it is safe to exit.

Confrontation with a violent individual might be the last and only choice. Your employees may have to consider chairs or fire extinguishers as weapons and consider the benefit of force in numbers, speed and surprise.

During or Following Incident: Communicating

After an incident (or during a prolonged hostage situation), how your credit union communicates to its staff, members and the media is critical to the success of your recovery and stabilization of your business continuity and reputation. The immediate aftermath of an active shooter situation will likely be a confusing period. Your response plan should highlight how to transition into recovery mode in the first hour, second hour and within 24 hours.

While timely communication is essential, your staff must be trained in established protocols, including the fact that that nobody should post anything on social media. Also, staff members are not authorized to speak to the media until the designated crisis communication team has had an internal discussion. Misinformation can lead to further damage, confusion and possibly create more harm.

Part of your active shooter response plan should be to identify key people and teams who are responsible for crisis management, internal communications, business continuity and related roles. Through solid training, these individuals will be able to lead your credit union past the trauma of an active shooter incident and into a more hopeful future.

While standardized templates can be a good starting place, what works for one organization might not make sense for your credit union. A professional review of your active shooter preparedness plan can help ensure you have not overlooked critical details and that you are doing everything you can to keep your staff and members as safe as their savings.

Casey Boggs is President of ReputationUS in Portland, Ore. Learn more about its Active Shooter Preparedness program here.