Active Shooter Guidelines for Places of Mass Gathering
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ACTIVE SHOOTER GUIDELINES FOR PLACES OF MASS GATHERING AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND COUNTER-TERRORISM COMMITTEE ACTIVE SHOOTER GUIDELINES FOR PLACES OF MASS GATHERING AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND COUNTER-TERRORISM COMMITTEE ii ISBN: 978-1-922032-06-5 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-925290-51-6 (Online) © Commonwealth of Australia 2015 All material presented in this publication is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (www.creativecommons.org/licenses). For the avoidance of doubt, this means this licence only applies to material as set out in this document. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website as is the full legal code for the CC BY 4.0 licence (www.creativecommons.org/licenses). Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the It’s an Honour website (www.itsanhonour.gov.au). Contact us Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of this document are welcome at: Attorney-General’s Department 3–5 National Cct BARTON ACT 2600 Email: [email protected] 1 Contents INTRODUCTION 2 PURPOSE 2 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 3 THREAT CONTEXT 4 CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENTS 4 PRIMARY OBJECTIVES 5 PREVENTION 5 PREPAREDNESS 6 RESPONSE 6 RECOVERY 8 USEFUL LINKS 9 VERSION CONTROL 9 APPENDIX A— Current security context 10 APPENDIX B— Firearm attack - initial action advice for management 11 APPENDIX C— Firearm attack - initial action advice for individuals 12 2 Introduction Purpose Places of mass gathering (PMG) can pose These guidelines aim to increase stakeholder a broad range of security challenges for awareness of this particular type of dynamic their owners and operators. They have been threat, while also providing guidance on the specifically identified—both nationally and issues and options that may be considered internationally—as attractive targets for religious during risk mitigation and contingency planning and political extremists, as well as disgruntled activities. The National Guidelines (2011) set or mentally impaired individuals. Armed offender out several broad guiding principles that public attacks have occurred and continue to occur in and private sector stakeholders should consider crowded places such as sporting, transport and to reduce their vulnerability to the threat of entertainment venues. Government and private terrorism. These active shooter guidelines aim to sector stakeholders must work cooperatively to supplement and build upon some of those broad ensure that integrated and effective plans and areas of focus, with particular emphasis on the arrangements are in place to prevent or reduce following two principles: the impact of such incidents. • Prevention and preparedness arrangements should be underpinned by an intelligence-led, These guidelines are intended to increase risk management approach. understanding of the threat that active shooter incidents pose to PMG. In particular, they • Effective security outcomes in complex mass seek to illustrate the key role that private gathering environments require cooperation sector stakeholders can play in developing and coordination between all stakeholders. and implementing appropriately informed Gaining a better understanding of the risk prevention, preparedness, response and environment and options for preventing and recovery arrangements to reduce the risks dealing with active shooter incidents will enable posed by such a threat. The guidance material private sector stakeholders to more effectively has been developed by the Mass Gatherings contribute to the collective national efforts to Advisory Group on behalf of the Australia- manage this threat to PMG. It is intended that New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee this knowledge will lead to the development (ANZCTC), with input from the Mass of ‘contingency plans’ or sub-plans that will Gatherings Business Advisory Group. It supplement existing emergency response should be read in conjunction with the plans and arrangements at facilities and Australia- New Zealand Counter-Terrorism venues. Committee’s National Guidelines for the Protection of Places of Mass Gathering from Terrorism (2011). 3 Glossary of terms Active shooter: A person armed with a firearm(s) who is actively engaged in killing or attempting to cause serious harm to multiple people in a populated location. Emergency management: The plans, structures and arrangements that are established to bring together government, voluntary and private agencies in a coordinated way to deal with emergency needs, including prevention, response and recovery. Evacuation: The process of relocating people from dangerous or potentially dangerous areas to safer areas. The purpose of an evacuation is to use distance to separate people from the danger created by the emergency. Mitigation: Measures taken before, during, or after a disaster (emergency) to decrease or eliminate its impact on society (people) and the environment (places). Places of mass gathering (PMG): Are characterised by having a large concentration of people on a predictable basis, and include a diverse range of facilities and sites such as sporting venues, shopping/business precincts, public transport hubs and tourism/entertainment venues. Police first responder: The general-duties, uniformed police that often provide the initial policing response to calls for police assistance. Police Tactical Group (PTG): A highly trained police unit that tactically manages and resolves high-risk incidents, including terrorist incidents. Rapid deployment: The swift and immediate deployment of emergency services personnel to an ongoing situation where delayed deployment could result in serious injury or death. Situational awareness: The ability to quickly recognise and interpret an event, make sound decisions based on those interpretations, and establish early, effective and continuous lines of communication between the incident site and the controlling agency in order to provide ongoing accurate information about the situation to responders. Terrorist act: An act or threat committed with the intention of advancing a political, ideological or religious cause, and which is intended to coerce or intimidate an Australian government, a foreign government, or sections of the public, which causes serious physical harm or death to a person, endangers a person’s life, causes serious damage to property, creates a serious risk to the health and safety of the public, or seriously interferes with, seriously disrupts, or destroys, an electronic system. 4 demonstrates that attacks can occur without Threat context forewarning and security services cannot International experience indicates that firearm guarantee visibility of all terrorist attack planning. attacks continue to be one of the more common It is also a reminder that that attacks may also be attack strategies adopted by violent extremists, inspired by a non-Islamist ideology and driven by due in part to their relative ease of access local issues. to weapons. Within the Australian context, These guidelines aim to provide advice relative while access to firearms is well regulated in to the active shooter threat. Guidance material comparison, their use is still considered to be on the threat posed by IEDs is contained in a one of the most likely methods of attack. separate set of ANZCTC guidelines. Historically, Australia and New Zealand have The current security context assessment is not been immune from active shooter events. contained at Appendix A. Several significant incidents have occurred at places such as shopping centres, universities and public spaces while many potential attacks Characteristics have been stopped. In August 2009, four men were arrested in relation to a terrorist plot of active shooter targeting the Holsworthy Army Barracks in NSW incidents where they planned to infiltrate the barracks and The typical active shooter will attempt to kill as shoot as many people as possible. The Port many people as possible within a short period of Arthur, Hoddle Street, Strathfield, and Queen time. This is why they generally target places where Street incidents in particular demonstrate that they can achieve the greatest impact—i.e. crowded active shooter mass casualty attacks in Australia places. The rapid development of active shooter remain a real, persistent and substantial threat to incidents often means the police first responders the community. will be uniformed, general-duties police. The threat of self-directed lone actor attacks An active shooter incident does not generally using basic weapons and firearms presents one include a hostage situation, but can potentially of the most significant challenges for security transition into one, particularly during the and law enforcement agencies. Terrorist attacks resolution phase. in Canada, the United States, France, Denmark and Australia in late 2014 continue a recent trend towards this type of attack in the West. Terrorist General features propaganda continues to promote the efficacy Research to-date has not identified any of ‘stand-alone’ attacks, encouraging individuals significant trends regarding active shooter in western countries to conduct attacks at home incidents, particularly in the Australian–New rather than travelling to overseas conflict zones. Zealand context. In fact, most incidents vary greatly from one attack to another. The following Violent Islamist extremists are not the only general features, however, are common potential source of threat for a lone actor active elements of active