As security professionals we all realize the value in testing our security protocols and responses.  In some industries, such as healthcare or education, it is a requirement to conduct drills for some security risks.  However, when not properly conducted a drill can actually result in undesirable outcomes such as lawsuits, unfavorable public relations and news stories, brand destruction, and so on.

Positive Affirmations of Security Drills

Conducting security drills can go a long way to demonstrate to those such as staff, customers, students, and the community your commitment to insure the safety and security of everyone that frequents your campus.  Drills also give you as management the opportunity to see if what is on paper in your security policies or emergency plans actually work as intended.

There has not been a drill that we have participated in or monitored that were without any issues, and what is often the case there are numerous discussions after the drill that will normally result in some changes to the existing plans.  It is not that the original plan was flawed; the changes are normally a result of environmental changes that have occurred since the inception of the plan or other considerations such as logistics, staffing, resources, or a number of other factors that may have changed.

Management Planning for a Security Drill

There are three important factors when planning a security drill and those are planning, notification, and timing.  Get anyone of those wrong, or fail to consider anyone of them and things could go really wrong.

There have been lawsuits as a result of security drills that have resulted in adverse outcomes for either unwilling or unknowing participants.  Each of these cases, and likely many others that have not resulted in civil litigation, can often be attributed to inadequate notification or poor planning.  So how can we avoid undesirable outcomes?  Plan, notify, and insure the timing is right.

When it comes to planning you need to have a planning committee that represents all entities that will be involved.  For example; management, law enforcement, fire services, ambulance services, facilities staff, security, risk management, legal, public relations, staff, volunteers and any other group that will have any level of participation in the drill should be represented on the committee.  Everyone needs to know what will occur and how it will play out, and they all need to know how to respond to any issue that presents itself before, during or after the drill.

Other aspects of planning include public or student notification, and in the event that the drill will occur at a school, parents should be notified and given the option of whether or not their child can participate.

As the property owner you have to be in control of your facilities and as uncomfortable as it may seem, you will have to manage the law enforcement activities on your campus.  Now do not get me wrong, I have been and will always be a strong supporter of law enforcement, myself being a retired police officer, but as a security professional I know that we have to set limits for our facilities because if things go wrong it will be our staff, students, customers, visitors and others that will be negatively impacted by our lack of oversight.  In addition to that it will be our facility’s name plastered all over the newspapers and media news stories for the foreseeable future.  Law enforcement officials will work with you to insure that your needs are addressed, but it is your job to insure that plans do not change at the last minute or as the drill progresses.

Notification is often the one thing that is cited in every security drill that goes awry.  Either you failed to make the proper notifications or you failed to be forthcoming in your notifications.  When you think about who will be notified it is better to be overly inclusive.  By that we are referring to making notifications that are far reaching.

For example, not only should you notify your staff and others that may be on your campus during the drill, but also notify the neighboring property owners and media.  Notification cannot just be an email blast because not everyone reads their email in a timely manner.  All key players and anyone that might be affected by the drill should be notified in person.  Signs are also a good idea and they should be easy to read and very prominently displayed throughout the drill area.  Since not everyone will see or read a sign, staff members should be posted at all points of entry and they should be instructed on what to say.  The list of ways to insure proper notification is extensive, but suffice it to say that the more notifications the better.

Timing is crucial!  As an example a fire drill was conducted at one medical center moments after a patient suffered a fatal heart attack.  Security staff knew of the medical emergency yet they continued to conduct their drill without considering the impact it would have on the medical staff or family of the deceased patient.  The drill turned out to be a staff relations nightmare for the medical center and security’s credibility took a hit for the next several days.  In this case security had notice that an emergency was occurring in another part of the building, yet they failed to postpone their drill for another time.  In most cases, including this one, security had discretion on the timing of the drill.

Adverse Outcomes of Poorly Planned Drills

There are numerous examples of how and where a security drill went bad.  Due to the large number of examples we will limit our examples to a few.

In October 2013 there was an active shooter drill at a nursing home drill in Carbondale, Colorado where a nurse was taken hostage by a police officer during what she believed was a real hostage/active shooter incident.  The nurse approached a stranger and was immediately taken hostage by a man with a gun.[1]  It was reported that the nurse did not know of the drill and the fact that the suspect was actually a police officer and the gun was not real.  Since this incident the nurse left her employment with that nursing home because she was traumatized by the ordeal.

In 2003 an infant abduction drill was conducted at a medical center in the Midwest where the medical center failed to properly overhead page that it was a drill.  As a result many staff members were visibly shaken and distraught believing that an infant was abducted.  It took several hours for the staff recover from what they believed was a real abduction.

In March 2013 an active shooter drill at a school in Boardman, Ohio was proceeding as planned until a police officer unexpectedly tackled a teacher who was role playing of a “panicked parent.”[2]  The teacher was injured as a result of the physical intervention and has since filed a law suit against the school district and law enforcement agency.

Increased Liability Risks from Poorly Planned Security Drills

You can never plan too much for a security drill, especially those that involve outside agencies such as law enforcement and first responders.  Notification is probably the most critical aspect of pre-drill planning and it is the responsibility of all involved parties to insure that it is completed in such a manner that there are no gaps in the notification plan.  Timing of the drill is an important consideration and if your planning and notifications are comprehensive and thorough timing should never be an issue.

Remember, if you fail to properly plan a security drill there could be long-term adverse affects on your staff, students, customers and neighbors, as well as your organization’s reputation.

[1] Source Wall Street Journal

[1] Source WKBN-27 Youngstown, OH