Mass shootings are a tragic reality in the present-day world. According to ABC News, there have been 21 mass shootings in the US so far in 2019, killing 124 people. These numbers are only becoming larger; with a mass shooting taking place 99 days apart from each other.
Threats such as active shooters are incredibly difficult to be adequately prepared for and the locations that they traditionally select often have limited security measures. With the unprecedented increase in active shooters committing mass shootings, technology has evolved to become more preventative rather than reactive when it comes to securing occupants of a facility.
The State of Today’s Reactive Weapons Detection
The United States Department of Homeland Security defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” Notable mass shootings have taken place in movie theaters, churches, nightclubs and schools where existing weapons detection systems, if present at all, are large, fixed metal detectors or bulky turnstiles. On a more broad spectrum, there are no cost-effective mass screening options for facilities like shopping malls, mass transit or public and private buildings. Video surveillance has not been proven as a preventative for mass shootings and often only acts as a component of post-event analysis.
Beyond the inability to actually detect any potential threat, today’s methods of mass screening for weapons detection are simply visually unappealing and require an additional queuing system that impedes the fluid movement of authorized entrants both in and out of a building.
Capitalizing on progressive technologies, facilities can now adopt mass screening for their facilities that integrates within their lobby in a discreet way while detecting and preventing entry to potential active shooters trying to access the facility.
A Modern Approach to Proactive Shooter Defense
The best way to combat active shooting situations is to integrate proactive security measures that act as a deterrent and active monitoring solution. When combining Fastlane® optical turnstiles from Smarter Security with premier integrations from Patriot One Technologies® and ReconaSense, these entrance control solutions leverage AI-powered technology to detect and delay active assailants’ progress into a building before they fire a shot or inflict harm.
The PATSCAN Platform and its sensor components can be covertly deployed to detect visible threats as well as concealed weapons on a body or in a bag. Once detected, on-site security is notified instantly via mobile phone, tablet, or desktop so they can respond quickly and effectively to the situation.
Integrating the PATSCAN Platform solution with Smarter Security and ReconaSense takes it one step further. Once the PATSCAN Platform detects a threat, Fastlane optical turnstiles and Door Detectives can be locked down to bar entry to a potential attacker or contain them in a specific area. The integrated solution can capture key details about the location and individual, as well as provide real-time video that is transmitted directly to security personnel and first responders.
Adopt Cost Effective Mass Screening for Your Facility
Being prepared for an active shooter situation is now accessible with the Proactive Shooter Defense System from Smarter Security. Discover how this platform can benefit your facility and its occupants by requesting a quote today.
