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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

In the aftermath of tragedies, families and victims often have no other recourse but to sue the organization (school, business, government, etc.), the shooters/family, or other third parties. Lawsuits and settlements over the years have been trending up and up: 2000 Columbine School Shooting Settlement                 $2.5 Million 2012 Virginia Tech Shooting Settlement                         $11.1 Million 2018 Michigan State Settlement (USA Gymnastics)         $500 Million 2020 MGM Concert Shooting                                         $800 Million 2022 Oxford School Shooting (filed not settled)              $200 Million 2022 Uvalde School Shooting (filed not settled)              $27 Billion Class Action Other post-incident settlements settled by the Department of Justice/FBI: 2021 Charleston, SC Church Shooting                             $88Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

It is a great honor to share this press release from the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) as they are proactively bolstering safety, security, and health in their schools utilizing Awareity’s award-winning prevention platform. I want to also recognize OSDE’s leadership for engaging with our team in in-depth discussions regarding the recurring problems that are leaving student, faculty, staff, and schools at risk to increasing shootings, violence, abuse, bullying/cyberbullying, suicides, and soaring liabilities too. Recurring problems like pre-incident indicators are almost always available before incidents occur, but the indicators (warning signs, leakage, behaviors, history, etc.) are not being collected from scattered “sources” across theRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

I was recently out shopping and as I returned to my truck parked in the parking lot, I noticed something shiny in one of my tires.  Upon further inspection, I had a screw in my tire. A screw in your tire is not a good thing.  I started thinking about all the unwanted consequences that could occur if my tire goes flat.  What if the tire went flat while I was driving or parked or out at night? The issues of changing the flat tire in the Vegas heat or on the highway; or calling and waiting for road for service. The unwanted interruptions andRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, First Preventer, Health Care, indicators, News, Prevention, Risk Management, School Safety, Video, Workplace Violence

This message is probably the most important message for LEADERS of schools, higher ed, organizations, and communities that I’ve ever shared in any of my videos. When you don’t know what others know, bad things can happen and we see examples of bad things happening on a DAILY basis. To stop the bad things from happening, a new Prevention Model is needed, because more security and hardening is getting ready to react to an attack, not preventing an attack. To all LEADERS, when you don’t know what 20+ years of research data has exposed about proactively PREVENTING incidents and tragedies, your organization and community areRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Acts of violence and acts of evil are increasing across the nation. Why? The short answer points to the soaring numbers of at-risk individuals (due to increasing stressors leading to more grievances and escalations leading up to attacks). As more at-risk individuals escalate and commit more acts of violence and evil, conventional plans, strategies, and tools are becoming overwhelmed and even less effective in keeping up with the increasing incidents and challenges. First Responders are also becoming more and more overwhelmed reacting and responding to more and more incidents and tragedies. Reactive Prevention vs. Proactive Prevention Reactive prevention options react and respond to an attackerRead More →

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In: Uncategorized

If you are like me, keeping our children safe is a top priority, so I was very interested in reading what the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) found after studying 41 incidents of targeted violence in schools from 2008 to 2017. The USSS/NTAC study revealed several valuable lessons learned, including valuable findings regarding the prevention of targeted violence tragedies: The analysis suggests that many of these tragedies could have been prevented All attackers exhibited concerning behaviors. Most elicited concern from others and most communicated their intent to attack. The finding that ALL attackers exhibited concerning behaviors is huge becauseRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

It is hard to believe that the Virginia Tech shooting was over 15 years ago, that 32 innocent people lost their lives, 17 others were injured, and countless others have had their lives changed forever. It seems tragedies like Virginia Tech have been happening for way too long and way too often. Unfortunately, we can never bring anyone back from these horrific tragedies, however, we can and must do the right things to make sure their lives make a difference for others and lives are not lost in vain. After Virginia Tech, an outside panel released a report of recommendations and this telling statement: “variousRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

It’s no secret that hacking was on the rise even before the Russia and Ukraine war, but the war has heightened the threat and now we are seeing official warnings from the President of the United States as well as the FBI and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and other government agencies. Unanimously, the warnings suggest organizations and communities harden their networks, which is vital, but numerous other attacks and more recent hacks at Microsoft and Okta serve as reminders that hardening your network is not enough. Why do you need additional solutions?  Because these attacks and others like them are targeting your people,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Imagine you have a 30-minute commute to work every day, you take the same route using the same roads and get stopped by the same red lights every day. One morning you are almost halfway to work, and I call you up and say, “Hey my friend, quick, get off the road at the next exit”.  You think to yourself, that will add 20-30 more minutes to my commute, and I do not want to be in my car for another 20-30 minutes.  So, you ask me, “Why should I get off at the next exit?!”  And I say, “Because I know you take thisRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, First Preventer

The First Preventers Model For Communities, Schools, and Organizations Individuals of Concern / At-Risk Individuals Exist in the Community (Soaring numbers of individuals of concern and at-risk individuals due to the pandemic, political division, the economy, job stability, race, hate, extremists, terrorism, and numerous other challenges.) Incidents and Tragedies are taking place in the Community Shootings, school violence, workplace violence, community violence, gang violence, drug violence, robberies, sexual abuse, child abuse, suicides, and numerous other incidents and tragedies. Pre-Incident Indicators Exist in the Community (Red flags, warning signs, concerning behaviors, behavior history, leakage, etc.) Interventions, Disruptions, and Prevention must take place in the Community When the right people don’tRead More →