Security starts with yourselves is Police message at Tricounty workplace violence seminar

“Security starts with yourselves….you have to be aware of your surroundings.”

This was the message from Officer Gregory Fritz at a TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce seminar on Workplace violence on Tuesday Morning in Pennsylvania.

Fritz and another officer of the Pottstown Police, Sgt Edward Kropp, also recommended that…

“Administrators should set up policies or guidelines for what you should do (in a situation of workplace violence/threat).”

Along with adopting guidelines, police also suggested safety education for staff, instructing employees on important practices such as…

  • avoiding areas that feel unsafe
  • equipping staff with cell phones or other communication devices and even
  • altering schedules for vendors on a daily basis to avoid potential criminals from detecting patterns.

A considerable section of the event was dedicated to provide advice when faced with an active shooter incident at the workplace.  The officers also covered strategies to pre-empt potentially violent situations and counter them them before they happen.

GuardianMPS Thoughts:

We believe when it comes to security you should “LAYER UP”.

The advice mentioned in this article has clearly been of importance in real world situations has as outlined by the officers.
In the field of Active Shooter incidents, we recognize the specialized nature of advising in this field and as such, we wholeheartedly defer to the officers’ better judgement.

That said however, we also suggest that a sense of empowerment can be carried into many situations BEFORE they happen. Some strategies to complement those mentioned above include:

  • developing a solid understanding of lines of communication
  • nominating identifying and involving responsible persons
  • a clearly laid out set of protocols to follow in an emergency situation.

By planning in advance and educating users who may be at risk, workers within organizations can reduce the panic experienced in a threatening situation of workplace violence.

It is this systematic thinking that is at the heart of GuardianMPS, the permanently monitored personal safety framework we designed for the protection of such individuals.

Unlike some systems on the market there is no requirement for special hardware or devices, but simply requires workers to carry a mobile phone. This is all that is required for GuardianMPS users to make it known if they are facing any developing or active situations where they may need assistance.

We believe that we have a strong relevance to many of the topics and advice outlined in the TriCounty seminar. For those that want to know more about this and about GuardianMPS, we invite you to attend a free webinar on workplace violence.

We will show some of the other strategies and layers that will contribute to a stronger personal safety culture in organizations large and small.

Original article appears here.