My first thought on August 3, 2019, when learning about the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, was if a good friend of mine who lives there was safe.

Mass violence, primarily shootings, is growing and can only continue to do so, and we have a professional obligation to analyze where the failures are and to take corrective action. 

Security executives have to be constant evangelists when it comes to preserving operational effectiveness.

Jurisdictions throughout the nation increased security at houses of worship this weekend after a teen gunman killed one woman and injured a rabbi, a child and another man during Passover celebrations at a San Diego-area synagogue last Saturday. 

I was in law enforcement prior to the term ‘Active Shooter’ became an accepted way to describe someone bent on hurting people, and before Columbine forever changed how police will respond to acts of mass violence.

Patriarchs have a strong influence on the level of radicalization and recruitment of family members.

As someone who has been engaged by consulting clients and full-time employers to conduct threat assessments and write security and emergency preparedness plans, I am often left puzzled by how many organizations go to great lengths to assess their vulnerabilities and create plans to address them, but almost never test their ongoing effectiveness.

Last week President Donald Trump called on European countries to take 800 ISIS members that are in U.S. custody in Syria or “we will be forced to release them.”