Much of today’s security philosophy focuses on the idea of prevention. School, church, hospital, public and commercial facility and security managers are taking a proactive approach to security by deploying access control, perimeter security and other measures. However, the unfortunate truth is that despite this approach, emergency situations like armed intruder scenarios still occur. In these instances, it is necessary to focus on the next step in security: the response times of law enforcement or first responders and building occupants.

The need for faster response times from law enforcement and first responders is highlighted in this 2008 study from the U.S. Department of Justice (p. 116). It found that response times, in situations of violence or other serious emergencies, averaged 5-10 minutes. Standing alone, those numbers are not poor; however, when taking into account the time that it takes to actually reach 911 dispatch, those 5-10 minutes could be tacked on to the previous 10 minutes that it took to contact first responders. Speeding that response time is a priority in crisis situations; the first five minutes are critical as the situation escalates. Rapid Emergency Response Systems (RERS) are designed to force security managers and CSOs to think through potential crisis situations thoroughly and examine the tools on the market that can effectively help – from prevention to scenario response. From an implementation standpoint, a RERS is a complementary security measure that should fit well with all other preventative measures already in place making for a fully-integrated system.