Ron Self, Ed.S.

When seconds count, the police will be minutes away! Active Shooter Readiness & Situational Awareness Training 1. On Site Vulnerability/Operational Assessment & Active   Shooter Readiness Course 2. Building a Church Safety Program, Review & Assessment 3. Hemorrhage Control Course 4. Armed Responder Course Click the link below to learn more about Active Shooter Readiness or email [email protected] https://lnkd.in/eE2X_Wt

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When seconds count, the police will be minutes away! Active Shooter Readiness & Situational Awareness Training 1. On Site Vulnerability/Operational Assessment & Active   Shooter Readiness Course 2. Building a Church Safety Program, Review & Assessment 3. Hemorrhage Control Course 4. Armed Responder Course Click the link below to learn more about Active Shooter Readiness or email [email protected] https://lnkd.in/eE2X_Wt

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3rd Annual Use of Force Conference in Minnesota for 2025. Here is a list of some of the topics to be covered from a host of national speakers: ✅Polices, Procedure and Acredidation ✅Science of Force ✅Pre-Escalation Syndrome ✅Post OIS: Navigating Fanily and your department ✅Defending a 1983 Action ✅ Evidence Based Data to improve policies ✅ POI and Communication during OIS ✅ Human Perception v Digital Evidence ✅ Cross- Cultrual Communication And much more! Sign up today using any leftover 2024 funds!

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Right Way, and then there is the Wrong Way. In light of recent events, it’s clear that North Carolina has set an important precedent in handling corruption and misconduct within its law enforcement training programs. The decisive actions taken in North Carolina, where a police academy was shut down for falsifying records and brutality, exemplify what can happen when a state prioritizes integrity and justice over politics. This is the result of a proper investigation that sought to root out corruption and restore public trust in law enforcement. However, if you want to see a stark contrast in how such serious matters are handled—or mishandled—look no further than Massachusetts. The recent scandal involving the just-retired Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee is a textbook example of what not to do. The Executive Director’s involvement in lying to investigators, conspiracy, Brady violations, and tampering with evidence related to forged police officer certification documents should have led to swift and severe consequences. Instead, Massachusetts failed to adequately address these egregious violations, seemingly more concerned with covering up the scandal than with holding those responsible accountable. This is a clear case of playing politics with public safety. Unlike North Carolina, where the integrity of the police force was prioritized, Massachusetts chose to protect its own, allowing corruption to fester. Such inaction not only undermines the credibility of the state’s law enforcement but also erodes public trust in the institutions meant to protect and serve the community. Massachusetts should take a page from North Carolina’s book and recognize that transparency, accountability, and a commitment to justice are non-negotiables in law enforcement. Anything less is a disservice to the people and a stain on the state’s reputation. #MPTC #NADA #MADA #MCOPA #CALEA #MPAC #MSP #NESPIN #RISS #DOJ #ACFE #ASIS #lawenforcement #security #statepolice #corrections #AGO #IG #POST #ACLU #CPCS #veterans #whistleblower #corruption #BBO https://lnkd.in/eVvHkpEJ

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The January 1 New Orleans attack brings up several hard-fought lessons learned. I helped administer the Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP) in Chicago, protecting dozens of sites against this precise threat. That involved a steep learning curve about countering vehicle ramming attacks and vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) to effectively apply DHS grant funds. The fact is that homeland security professionals are going to be pressured by multiple interests when trying to counter vehicle ramming attacks. Restaurant and retail merchants will oppose anything that slows or impedes their deliveries. Equipment vendors will attempt to sell you any and every system under the sun – only some of which are effective. Most political leaders will be more concerned with perception, opposing anything that causes their office to get angry phone calls. Those with responsibility for public safety must closely examine any possible vehicular approach route, including sidewalks or open spaces. Vehicular barriers are ultimately a matter of convenience versus security, and will likely include some combination of fixed and removable or portable devices. Done correctly, these are a part of a larger safety ecosystem to effectively separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Barriers may include landscaping, fixed planters, fixed bollards (vertical metal or concrete pipes), removable bollards, and/or portable devices. Ideally, there will be multiple layers segmenting any open gathering space. A thoughtful and intentional combination of barricades is vital to the successful protection of any concentration of pedestrians – which brings us to Bourbon Street. All of the challenges noted above were in play on New Years Eve in New Orleans. Different stressors resulted in the vehicular protection for the area being clearly insufficient, and an ISIS-inspired extremist perpetrator took full advantage. Existing movable bollard systems were likely disabled when their tracks were compromised by beads and liquids – this is the French Quarter. (As noted in the attached article, local police were also pressured by merchants who felt “inconvenienced” by the barriers.) This emphasizes two lessons I learned: simple is good and moving parts fail; layers or concentric rings avoid single points of failure. As uncomfortable as it may be, part of this safety process must be thinking like a bad guy. If someone wants to do harm, what path might they choose? And if you’ve left a convenient route for a delivery, you’ve left a convenient route for an attacker. We all need to take a hard look at our geography and our assumptions – because this is not the last vehicle ramming attack. [Next week: Las Vegas analysis] #vehicleramming #terrorism #publicsafety #homelandsecurity #barriers #bollards https://lnkd.in/gNk4Wu7Y

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The Active Shooter Prevention Project (ASPP), LLC P.R.O. (Prevention, Response, Options) Model works. It is not an opinion or an emotional plea; this is a proven model of solutions that works. We evaluate and incorporate the work(s) listed, from backgrounds to behavioral management reporting tools, ballistic material to glass film, and weapon detection from Scylla paired with gunshot detection from EAGL. Request your copy of our white paper https://lnkd.in/gVCttvKw "There’s no hyperbole here. The tests are done, the accuracy is immense, and in these types of environments, we demand change as a public. We come to you as citizens who happen to know this field, not as experts selling a “ware.” "Please help us and the rest of the Active Shooter Prevention Project community of experts continue to create change and promote life-saving measures so we don’t have to repeat this." Albert Stepanyan Tod Langley CEO Scott Hyderkhan Gregory Shaffer Daryl Parker Aaron L. Witt, Active Threat Consultant EAGL TECHNOLOGY, INC Jennifer Russell, Co Founder SVP CSO Jason Horner, CPA Ara Bagdasarian Scylla Alan Pugh MidPoint Technology Group Maria Dinopol Davista Clear Armor AQSACOM Scott Sieracki Dave Trudeau SafeWood Designs AMP Global Strategies Louis Barani Frank ONeill, CISSP, GCCC, GISP, PSP Kris Greiner Charles Stortz Blackfish Intelligence Glenn G. Norling, MA Justin Partridge David Kaspary Jr. John Vingsen Ruben Roel David Forman Gary Connor Imron Hussain Fawzia Atcha, Ph.D. Jason Stallings

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Colleagues and friends! I’m proud to announce my partnership with Police Training HQ. Mike Hughes and I are revealing a soft launch of our training company, aimed at providing critical resources for Texas police cadets and beyond. Please help me share this resource. Also, feel free to reach out with questions or inquiries. I’d love to talk with you! My direct line is (903) 513-2130. All the best! 🚨 Exciting News from Police Training HQ: Soft Launch Announcement! 🚨 We’re thrilled to announce the soft launch of Police Training HQ, a comprehensive resource platform designed to help Texas police cadets and officers succeed both in the academy and throughout their careers! While not all of our products are available just yet, we’re excited to offer the following essential tools to get you started: ✅ Topic-Specific Exams: Focused practice on key areas of the TCOLE Basic Licensing Exam. ✅ Practice Cumulative Exam: Test your knowledge with an Exam that prepares you for the TCOLE test. ✅ Flashcards: A quick and effective way to master important concepts on the go. ✅ Case Law Precedent Workbook: Learn key case law that sets vital precedents for law enforcement. ✅ FTO Survival Guide: Essential tips and strategies for field training officers and new recruits. 🌟 More Products Coming Soon 🌟 Stay tuned for additional resources, including full study guides, expanded career workbooks, and much more! Police Training HQ was created by Texas law enforcement officers with one mission in mind: to provide high-quality training resources that help cadets and officers pass the TCOLE Basic Licensing Exam and excel in their careers. 💻 Visit https://lnkd.in/gbKSNiBX to explore the resources available now and stay updated on upcoming releases! #TCOLE #PoliceTraining #LawEnforcement #TexasLawEnforcement #PoliceExamPrep #SoftLaunch #CareerDevelopment #PoliceTrainingHQ #OfficerTraining #AcademyResources #LawEnforcementCareers

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Radios have become as critical to traffic control teams as vests, hard hats, and safety glasses. They are a key part of the Flagger Force toolkit, helping workers stay safe while keeping traffic moving efficiently. 🗨️Checkout our newest blog about 3-way communication in work zones: https://bit.ly/470dR0n #SafetyDriven #WeKeepOurCommunitiesMoving

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The topic of private equity in the EMS industry has piqued my interest. There's a lot to unpack in this topic line ... and the more I research it, the more private equity involvement I learn about within our industry. It's very interesting ... thoughts? https://lnkd.in/gvGn9G2Q.

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Noise is the unwanted variability in decisions made by experts who are looking at the same information. 245 police officers assessed each of these fiction scenarios based on real-world school shooting threats. Officers scored each case on a 1 (low) - 10 (high threat) scale, selected response options, and provided narrative comments about why they made these decisions. Case 1: Monday, 8:00 PM: A Twitter account with 0 followers posts a message stating there will be a shooting at Oak Creek Elementary School in your district at 9:47 am tomorrow.  Case 2: Sunday, 2:00 PM: 9-1-1 hang up call from a voice that sounds like a teenager threatens a shooting at Walnut High School in your district. No date or time is given. No answer on call back. Number traces to an online phone service with no registration information. Case 3: Wednesday, 11pm: Multi-page manifesto is posted to a community message board from an anonymous account. The document outlines a plan to attack a high school and names specific students as targets, and includes a list of weapons. No date or time is specified for the attack. Case 4: Tuesday, 10:00am: A teacher at Oak Creek Elementary finds a student’s drawing of stick figures portraying a school shooting in a trashcan. The teacher does not know which student drew the picture.  Case 5: Monday, 11:00am: Student shows school resource officer at Riverbend Middle School in your district a SnapChat thread being circulated by dozens of students. The thread shows photos of students with either a “heart” or “gun” emoji under their photo. Students on the thread are continuing to upload additional photos.  Case 6: Thursday, 2:30am: Via online threat reporting tool, an adult woman reports that her ex-husband is planning to shoot up the school. Records show he has no criminal history or disciplinary history as an employee, but multiple weapons are registered in his name. Prior to divorcing, the couple retired from teaching at Oak Creek High School. The man named as the threat is now married to a current Oak Creek High School teacher. For five of the six scenarios, scores ranged from 1 to 10 with averages between 3.5 and 7.5. This means that some individuals assessed a scenario as “10” (high threat) while the entire group of 245 officers collectively rated it as 3.5. Inversely, some officers rated a scenario as “1” (no threat) while the aggregate group score was 7.5. This is a huge range of wildly inconsistent assessments!

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For preparedness plans you have two choices, be a professional victim or create a strategy to maintain normal operations throughout an event. Military planning embraces two important concepts, mission command and end state. Both are essential for successful navigation of an exogenous shock. Critical infrastructure (CI) loss is the definition of an emergency in this modern and technologically enabled society. We navigate daily life via dependency on the 10 sectors (16 in US), when one fails, we're thrown into an unstable existence. The emergency becomes a disaster when we require external assistance, when the situation is beyond our capability and / or capacity to navigate. Mission command places the burden on the individual, to develop a personal strategy to understand their exposure to and dependancy on CI, through framing preparedness planning as a personal responsibility. Everyone will digest the plethora of ideas presented throughout Preparedness Week. Do you want to be dependant on a plan you created, for your family, that is distinct from government operations, requiring no public sector intervention beyond the restoration of CI? #emergencymanagement #disastermanagement #planning #missioncommand #resilience #community #resources #disaster #response #recovery #endstate #veteran #preparedness #emergencypreparedness #disasterpreparedness #preparednessweek #innovation #strategy Preparedness Labs Incorporated https://lnkd.in/gNC7br7S

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Had time to digest the FBI's 2023 active shooter annual report. While the number of incidents declined slightly from 2022 - 48 vs 50 - it remains 8 TIMES higher than in early 2000s. The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. America, we have a problem. And it will take systemic improvements to correct - to mental healthcare, societal norms, firearms legislation, security and law enforcement training. What we have documented here are 48 avoidable tragedies. #activeshooter #activethreat #publicsafety #gunviolence #security #lawenforcement #fbi https://lnkd.in/gmPQZutr

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While the organizations and people responsible for public safety in New Orleans clearly have leadership and competence deficiencies, Interfor certainly has leveraged this tragedy to get exposure (CNN, NBC, WSJ, etc.) while seemingly attempting to absolve themselves by beating up their client over their CONFIDENTIAL report As I’ve said before, I understand their frustration, but their report, at least the 60-page one released by CNN, was lacking. It did not follow a clear methodology or adhere to known security risk management standards. It also lacked essential commercial awareness and sophistication. Additionally, they didn’t present any data, comparisons, or specific, prioritized, and actionable options. It read more like conjecture, reporting observations, and delving into areas with limited and biased contexts in which they have no expertise. This made the report suspicious and easily dismissed by competing stakeholders. It’s no wonder the client didn't follow up. Most concerning, it was confidential. Outside of litigation and resulting increased reputational risk, revealing the assessment's results, or even its existence, without the client’s consent is wrong. If organizations can’t trust a company they hire for a security assessment, they will be much less likely to commission one, leaving security gaps and vulnerabilities unknown. https://lnkd.in/ek3589Cz

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Definitely a pursuit worth considering in your professional journey and development.

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Whew, slippppppery slope on this one. Does the statement make sense? For sure. It is based on a large body of information that many of us in the profession already recognize (while still playing to the beat of response times to increase funding). This statement hits the nail on the head that measured patient outcomes SHOULD grossly outweigh dated metrics that were stolen (borrowed) from other first-response professions. BUT: How has your agency traditionally communicated the need for increased providers to the taxpayer/elected officials? Well (I can almost guarantee), you have probably used the "based on our call volume, the availability of our units is decreasing which could lead to EXTENDED RESPONSE TIMES." Based on that (usually overhyped) concern, our profession has been successful in adding units, personnel, and even offshoot business models (looking at you CP/MIH). Now we are suggesting that many of the top national agencies are making the point that response times generally don't mean as much as we thought they did? I would approach that idea with kid gloves and make sure it is being run through the most suave politically talented people you have in your organization because it is going to be met with challenges. As a side note, did you notice who appears to be missing from this fray of agencies? CPSE (unless listing the Center for Public Safety was just an editorial issue, as CPS and CPSE are two different organizations). An organization that many agencies have relied on to help push the envelope for financing efforts by using metrics like response times and accessibility. I can't stress enough that I agree with this statement (and would push it even further to say things like our use of lights and sirens is GROSSLY abused, basic/AEMT transport units with medic chasers are the most effective system, and strong CP/MIH programs can assist with education and misuse of EMS, but I digress). It is just important that agency leaders are careful about communicating that a change in metrics does not always equate to a change in need. Otherwise, you may find yourself back-peddling into decreased resources because "response times aren't particularly impactful." https://lnkd.in/eDQYwqyU

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Are you interested in Clery Act Compliance? Check out this Campus Safety Magazine article for some valuable information and advice. #cleryact #campussafety #schoolsafety.

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