Homeland Security
ASHE Response Tools
SRPEDD has the technical capabilities and expertise to work in partnership with public safety and law enforcement professional in your community to create an Active Shooter Response Tool. We recently completed a tool for the Old Rochester Regional School District at their combined Junior High and High school, several examples from this project are below.
The first recommendation given in the aftermath of the Aurora, CO theater shooting was that “Police in departments small as well as large must plan in advance for a large-scale critical incident response, including pre-planned mutual aid and mutual assistance. Such planning should include establishing joint command with fire, building diagrams, internal contact telephone numbers, mutual aid staging locations, and communications procedures.”[1] In the wake of other active shooter, hostile events (ASHE) it is recommended that “[Police] should be familiar with the [high profile/high traffic buildings] located within their police districts. [Police] should obtain at least basic information … to include … installation maps/building locations, security camera locations, video control room location, and building floor plans. .”[2] Furthermore, “Pre-incident planning should include timely access to building diagrams, particularly critical infrastructure and plans of buildings where large numbers of persons gather on a regular basis.”[3]
This tool consists of both a physical and a digital deliverable.
Overview page with Landing Zones and Hydrants clearly marked.
First, a physical binder or booklet featuring an easy-to-navigate, accurate map of the building, including agreed-upon room nomenclature, symbology (e.g., HazMat, dead ends, entrances and exits, etc.), as well as exterior “birds eye” imagery to keep responders on the same page. This physical binder is coupled with a highly-detailed, online 3d scan of the building(s) in question (more on this second deliverable, below). This binder can also include point-of-interest photos of key areas of the building – for example, a complex auditorium for a school which may have odd corners in it, or the kitchen area of a building which may prove challenging to search and clear blindly. The high-resolution orthographic map of the exterior can feature pre-designated areas such as , as well as pre-determined traffic patterns.
A page featuring a detailed floorplan.
The second deliverable, an online walkable 3d virtual copy of the building, easily linked to and navigable on phones, tablets, and laptops. This deliverable allows law enforcement to virtually tour every square foot of a building to get a clear sense of its interior spaces and gain perspectives that can provide key locational or tactical information in the event of an ASHE.
SRPEDD’s Homeland Security and Comprehensive Planning staff will work with local school officials, fire, police, EMS, and emergency management personnel to ensure that the tool is usable, functional, and aligns with existing plans and procedures. We capture the interior of buildings using a 3d camera, and the exterior using a small drone.
[1]Recommendation 1, After Action Report, Aurora Century 16 Theater Shooting, July 20, 2012 by the TriData Division, System Planning Corporation,
[2]Item 5.1, After Action Report, Washington Navy Yard, September 16, 2013 By Washington Metro PD.
[3]Lesson Learned #6.22, “Bringing Calm to Chaos” A critical incident review of the San Bernardino public safety response to the December 2, 2015, terrorist shooting incident at the Inland Regional Center by Rick Braziel, Frank Straub, George Watson, and Rod Hoops.