by Stevan P. Layne, President & Founding Director of IFCPP

In the horrible aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, a number of preventive possibilities have come to the surface. Better gun controls would help, but are not necessarily the answer. And while firearms may be the most common means of attack, we still need to consider the use of explosives, incendiary devices/fire, vehicles, or a number of other possible weapons.

Entry screening does make a difference, but is difficult to put in place in some venues.  Difficult is not impossible, just usually more costly or logistically challenging. If sports stadiums, amusement parks, and other entertainment venues can screen visitors quickly and efficiently, the initiation of reasonable screening methods is possible in most all types of businesses and institutions, regardless of the types of facilities, number of visitors, or other factors. 

The task of management is to think about where potential attackers might secrete themselves, and determine a failsafe method of screening them before they reach their desired point of attack. Unfortunately, there are those who will say "how many times have attackers hidden in hotel rooms?" We often use the lack of numerous incidents in our own businesses or institutions to justify minimal action, or no action. Think about the number of terror-based attacks in the U.S. before September 11 finally awakened us to the reality of the threat. The extensive media coverage from Las Vegas does more than horrify potential concert attendees - it provides great stimulus for potential attackers as well.   

Improving our protection, in fact initiating better protection, will continue to be a major feat.  It will require considerable funding, greater staffing, all new training, and close coordination with numerous agencies. The Las Vegas law enforcement personnel and other first responders are to be congratulated on their excellent response and quick location of the perpetrator. Even then, it really wasn't quick enough. We need to identify potential attackers and suppress them, before the first shot is fired.  t can be done. 

Stay tuned for further discussion on this and other topics that are in the forefront of our minds.