No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Active Shooter Mitigation for Gun-Free Zones
Abstract
Active shooting violence poses a serious threat to public safety. The outcome is tragic due to the large number of casualties and injuries that can occur as well as the lasting emotional devastation it causes. This study examines the impact of active shooters in gun-free zones. Gun-free zones include all areas where the general public is forbidden to carry firearms. The goal of an active shooter is to shoot, at random, as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. This makes gun-free zones alikely target since no one inside is permitted to carry a gun. Thestudy uses a computer simulation program, called AnyLogic®, to create a lifelike gun-free zone workplace. Using the agent-based simulation model, different policy decisions are tested against one another. Those policy decisions include a default scenario in which no safety protocol is in place other than law enforcement response, a security guard scenario in which an armed security guard is present, a concealed carry scenario in which employees are allowed to carry concealed weapons, and a locked door scenario in which all interior doors are locked.The study demonstrates how response time has the largest impact of any variable in ensuring the least amount of casualties in an active shootingsituation. Response time and number of casualties can be decreased depending upon the policy chosen. The purpose of this study is to allow policy makers to compare the costs and benefits of policies for their respective gun-free zones in order to make more informed decisions which could save lives.
... Simulation has also been used to better understand communication (Reichart et al., 2019), and the effect of various parameters such as an armed security guard, locked doors, how to evacuate etc. Using simulation can help save lives proactively (Kirby et al., 2016). Technology is used to minimize the suspect's capacity to move in, e.g., a school building, by for example remote-controlled door locks. ...
An active shooter event is one of the most complicated situations a police officer could face. Today the standard procedure for an active shooter event is to enter the scene and try to prevent casualties. This involves taking great risks and puts the police officers in a situation they have not been trained for. This is a work in progress paper where the long-term goal is to develop modern technology that could increase the chance of saving lives and decrease the risk of being injured or killed during an active shooter event. Six active shooter event exercises taking place in Sweden have been studied using an ethnographic field study approach. Four themes have been identified where we argue that technology could enhance the police mission: A) Situational awareness; B) Decision making/prioritization; C) Localization of both sound and people; D) Decreasing time of intervention.
Active shooting violence at confined settings, such as educational institutions, poses serious security concerns to public safety. In studying the effects of active shooter scenarios, the common denominator associated with all events, regardless of reason/intent for shooter motives, or type of weapons used, was the location chosen and time expended between the beginning of the event and its culmination. This in turn directly correlates to number of casualties incurred in any given event. The longer the event protracts, the more casualties are incurred until law enforcement or another barrier can react and culminate the situation.
Using AnyLogic technology, devise modeling scenarios to test multiple hypotheses against free-agent modeling simulation to determine the best method to reduce casualties associated with active shooter scenarios.
Test four possible scenarios of responding to active shooter in a public school setting using agent-based computer modeling techniques-scenario 1: basic scenario where no access control or any type of security is used within the school; scenario 2, scenario assumes that concealed carry individual(s) (5-10 percent of the work force) are present in the school; scenario 3, scenario assumes that the school has assigned resource officer; scenario 4, scenario assumes that the school has assigned resource officer and concealed carry individual(s) (5-10 percent) present in the school.
Statistical data from modeling scenarios indicating which tested hypothesis resulted in fewer casualties and quicker culmination of event.
The use of AnyLogic proved the initial hypothesis that a decrease on response time to an active shooter scenario directly reduced victim casualties.
Modeling tests show statistically significant fewer casualties in scenarios where on scene armed responders such as resource officers and concealed carry personnel were present.
This paper may be considered as a practical reference for those who wish to add (now sufficiently matured) Agent Based modeling to their analysis toolkit and may or may not have some System Dynamics or Discrete Event modeling background. We focus on systems that contain large numbers of active objects (people, business units, animals, vehicles, or even things like projects, stocks, products, etc. that have timing, event ordering or other kind of individual behavior associated with them). We compare the three major paradigms in simulation modeling: System Dynamics, Discrete Event and Agent Based Modeling with respect to how they approach such systems. We show in detail how an Agent Based model can be built from an existing System Dynamics or a Discrete Event model and then show how easily it can be further enhanced to capture much more complicated behavior, dependencies and interactions thus providing for deeper insight in the system being modeled. Commonly understood examples are used throughout the paper; all models are specified in the visual language supported by AnyLogicTM tool. We view and present Agent Based modeling not as a substitution to older modeling paradigms but as a useful add-on that can be efficiently combined with System Dynamics and Discrete Event modeling. Several multi-paradigm model architectures are suggested.
As buildings and structures are designed more creatively, evacuation procedures to assure acceptable building fire safety standards have been a major concern of fire safety professionals. One way to assure occupants' safety lies in evacuation drills. Another potential alternative to confidently evaluate occupants' safety in buildings lies in computer-based evacuation models. The basis on which evacuation models have been developed are discussed. Human performance and behavior research during evacuation are also presented. The shortcomings of current evacuation models and the need for new features and capabilities are suggested for more accurate and representative evacuation models.
This paper presents a novel VR (virtual reality) trained BDI (belief, desire, intention) software agent used to construct crowd simulations for emergency response. The BDI framework allows modeling of human behavior with a high degree of fidelity. The proposed simulation has been developed using AnyLogic software to mimic crowd evacuation from an area under a terrorist bomb attack. The attributes that govern the BDI characteristics of the agent are studied by conducting human in the loop experiments in VR using the CAVE (cave automatic virtual environment). To enhance generality and interoperability of the proposed crowd simulation modeling scheme, input data models have been developed to define environment attributes. Experiments are also conducted to demonstrate the effect of various parameters on key performance indicators such as crowd evacuation rate and densities
Agent-based modeling is a powerful simulation modeling technique that has seen a number of applications in the last few years, including applications to real-world business problems. After the basic principles of agent-based simulation are briefly introduced, its four areas of application are discussed by using real-world applications: flow simulation, organizational simulation, market simulation, and diffusion simulation. For each category, one or several business applications are described and analyzed.
There Have Been More Mass Shootings Than Days This Year. Retrievedstoryline/san-bernardino-shooting/staggering- stats-there-have-been-more-mass-shootings-days-year-n473436
- T Costello
- E Chuck
Costello, T., & Chuck, E. (2015). There Have Been More Mass
Shootings Than Days This Year. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/san-bernardino-shooting/staggering-
stats-there-have-been-more-mass-shootings-days-year-n473436
Public Health And Safety Mitigating Risks From Active Shooter " Attacksus/focused-topics/public-health-and- safety/single-article-page/mitigating-risks-from-active-shooter- attacks/3be1818565841675c660bdc92b0a19ce
- P Leggiere
Leggiere, P. (2011, January 23). Public Health And Safety Mitigating
Risks From " Active Shooter " Attacks. Retrieved December 17, 2015,
from
http://www.hstoday.us/focused-topics/public-health-and-
safety/single-article-page/mitigating-risks-from-active-shooter-
attacks/3be1818565841675c660bdc92b0a19ce.html
Research Reveals Ways to Stem Growing Active Shooter Tide
- Jim Schenke
Schenke, Jim. (2014) "Research Reveals Ways to Stem Growing Active
Shooter Tide." -Purdue University. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
Active shooter report: Recommendations and analysis for risk mitigation
- R Kelly
Kelly, R. (2012). Active shooter report: Recommendations and analysis
for risk mitigation. New York, NY: New York City Police Department.
Guidelines -How to establish and maintain gun-free zones Available at: http://www.un.org/disarmament/publications/more/gfz-guidelines
- Unoda Publications
UNODA Publications. (2014). Guidelines -How to establish and
maintain
gun-free
zones.
Available
at:
http://www.un.org/disarmament/publications/more/gfz-guidelines/.
Retrieved December 16, 2015.
Advancements in Active Shooter Simulations
- Research Applied
- Associates
Applied Research Associates. Advancements in Active Shooter
Simulations. (2012). Retrieved December 17, 2015, from
http://www.ara.com/Newsroom_Whatsnew/press_releases/shooterattacks.htm
There Have Been More Mass Shootings Than Days This Year
- T Costello
- E Chuck
Costello, T., & Chuck, E. (2015). There Have Been More Mass
Shootings Than Days This Year. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/san-bernardino-shooting/staggeringstats-there-have-been-more-mass-shootings-days-year-n473436
Public Health And Safety Mitigating Risks From
- P Leggiere
Leggiere, P. (2011, January 23). Public Health And Safety Mitigating
Risks From "Active Shooter" Attacks. Retrieved December 17, 2015,
from
http://www.hstoday.us/focused-topics/public-health-andsafety/single-article-page/mitigating-risks-from-active-shooterattacks/3be1818565841675c660bdc92b0a19ce.html
Guidelines -How to establish and maintain gun-free zones
- Unoda Publications
UNODA Publications. (2014). Guidelines -How to establish and
maintain
gun-free
zones.
Available
at:
http://www.un.org/disarmament/publications/more/gfz-guidelines/.
Retrieved December 16, 2015.