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 Contact Us To provide feedback on the Community Policing Dispatch, e-mail the editorial board at CPDispatch@usdoj.gov. To obtain details on COPS Office programs, publications, and resources, contact the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov   **U.S. Department of Justice** 
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 **Mass Shootings: Preparing for Violent Events** July 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 6
  Two recent issues of the COPS Office’s *The Beat* podcast focus on preparation for and response to mass  shootings and active shooter incidents. Featured Podcasts **Active Shooter Podcast Series**
This special series takes an in-depth look at issues related to planning for and responding to active shooter incidents, with an emphasis on the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 3000 Standard for An Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program.  The podcasts feature John Montes from the Association, and Kathryn Floyd, a Visiting Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. **National Fire Protection Association Active Shooter Standards**
 John Montes is the National Fire Association’s staff liaison to the technical committee for EMS, Fire Service Occupational Safety and Health, Hazardous Materials Response, and Cross Functional Emergency Preparedness and Response. A nationally registered EMT, John has worked in EMS in several different roles—from the private service Boston EMS, to serving as an EMS Specialist and Duty Chief for the County of Santa Clara, California. Listen/DownloadRead Transcript
  **The Importance of Planning for Victims of Mass Shootings**  
    Kathryn Floyd is a mass violence & terrorism Visiting Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. Having studied mass violence for over 15 years, she focuses on helping emergency managers prepare for and respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism, to include sharing best practices prior to an incident occurring.  She was deeply involved in the drafting of NFPA 3000, the Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response. Listen/Download Read Transcript
 Mass shootings (events in which four or more people,  excluding the perpetrator, are shot—whether they are injured or killed—in a  single location)1 and active shooter incidents (events in which one or more individuals actively  engage in use of firearms to kill or attempt to kill people in a populated  area)2 have been increasing in both frequency  and number of fatalities since the late 1990s. From 2000–2013 the Federal  Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified at least 160 active shooter incidents—an  average of a little more than 11 per year—with an increasing trend (6.4  incidents per year in 2000–2006; 16.4 per year in 2007–2013) finishing with 17  in 2013.3 In  2014–2015, the FBI counted 20 active shooter incidents each in 2014 and 2015,4 20 in 2016 and 30 in 20175 —a 50-percent year-on-year increase—and  27 in 2018.6 In fact there were likely many more such incidents in each  year, as the FBI acknowledges a narrow focus in its research; for example, gang-  and drug-related shootings were excluded from the FBI’s studies.7 The Gun Violence Archive, a  nonprofit group that tracks and studies mass shootings with the intention of  being as inclusive as possible, reported 269 mass shootings in 2014, 335 in  2015, 382 in 2016, 346 in 2017, and 340 in 2018. Since the beginning of  calendar year 2019, the Gun Violence Archive has logged 175 mass shootings,  killing 184 people and injuring 673 more.8 The  danger in a mass shooting or active shooter incident is not only to the  unsuspecting public; these incidents also put a tremendous strain on law  enforcement and other first responders, who react within minutes to contain or  end the violence and save as many lives as possible. Although many active  shooter incidents end (often with the perpetrator dying by suicide) before law  enforcement arrives,9 in  many others the first responders’ efforts to confront and contain (or  neutralize) the shooter draw fire away from the initial victims. In 2018, of  the 128 people wounded and 85 killed in the 27 incidents examined by the FBI, six of the wounded and two of the dead were law  enforcement officers, and one unarmed security officer was also killed.10 In  addition, although 15 of the 27 perpetrators of those active shooter incidents  were killed (10 died by suicide while four were killed by law enforcement and  one by another community member) and one remains at large, 11 of the 27 were  apprehended by law enforcement.11 Among  the 673 people wounded in the 175 mass shooting incidents catalogued by the Gun  Violence Archive were 14 officers—along with 111 officers wounded and nine  killed in non–mass shooting incidents with fewer (apart from suicides, suicide  attempts, and accidents).12 Officers and first responders are at elevated personal risk  during and immediately following incidents, and the level of effort required  for the investigations is substantial and can be expensive. The preparation and  training of first responders is essential to limiting the damage done by active  shooters and saving lives. These issues of *The Beat* feature interviews with John Montes, the National Fire Protection  Agency’s Emergency Services specialist, and Kathryn Floyd, the Mass Violence  and Terrorism visiting fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for  Victims of Crime. These experts discuss the NFPA 3000, a Standard for an Active  Shooter/Hostile Event Response, which will provide guidance for law enforcement  and other emergency response agencies to be prepared for active shooter  incidents and other mass violence events to minimize and prevent casualties,  gain control of the situation and end the threat, and help their first  responders and communities manage and deal with the trauma afterward. Featured Podcasts The COPS Office coordinated closely with EJI on the  development of a series of podcasts  by  six law enforcement professionals to share their insights on recognizing  different kinds of fraud and abuse, how and when to collect evidence, and which  partners can help in protecting older community members and successfully  prosecute those that would do them harm. **Collecting Evidence in Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases**
                Officer Adam Gibson of the Quincy (Illinois) Police Department and Lt. Brett Parson of the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Police Department discuss the importance of, challenges to, and tips on collecting evidence for abuse and neglect cases. Listen/DownloadRead Transcript
  **The Role of Law Enforcement in Recognizing and Responding to  Elder Abuse**
                Andrea Higgens Paugh, Elder Abuse Inspector at the San Mateo County (California) District Attorney’s Office, and Gary MacNamara, retired Chief of Police of the Fairfield (Connecticut) Police Department, talk about how to identify the different types of elder abuse and where they can be found. Listen/Download Read Transcript
 **Financial Exploitations & Scams Are a Crime: Correcting Misperceptions and Collecting Evidence**
                Detective Skip Swain of the Fresno County (California) Sheriff’s Office and Detective Charles Szatkowski of the Colorado Springs (Colorado) Police Department share their experience on gathering evidence that leads to successful prosecutions of financial exploitations.  Listen/DownloadRead Transcript
 Sarah Estill and Melissa Fox
          Staff Writers References:1. “General Methodology,” Gun Violence Archive, accessed June 19, 2019, https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/methodology. 2. J. Pete Blair and Katherine W. Schweit, *A  Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States between 2000 and 2013* (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014), 5, https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-2000-2013-1.pdf/view. 3. Blair and Schweit, *A Study of Active  Shooter Incidents*, 5–6, 8 (see note 2). 4. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2014 and 2015*, 1 (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of  Investigation, 2016), https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooterincidentsus_2014-2015.pdf/view. 5. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2016 and 2017*, 1 (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of  Investigation, 2018), https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view. 6. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2018*, 2 (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019), https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2018-041019.pdf/view. 7. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2018*, 2 (see note 6). 8. “Mass Shootings in 2019,” Gun Violence Archive, accessed June 19, 2019, https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting. 9. Blair and Schweit, *A Study of Active  Shooter Incidents*, 8–9, 11 (see note 2****); *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2014 and 2015*, 2–4 (see note 4); *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2016 and 2017*, 4–5 (see note 5); *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2018*, 5–6 (see note 6). 10. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2018*, 5 (see note 6). 11. *Active Shooter Incidents in the United  States in 2018*, 6 (see note 6). 12. “Officer Shot or Killed,” Gun Violence Archive, accessed June 19, 2019, https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/officer-shot-killed. Tweet
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