There have been great advancements within public safety technology that have helped make communities safer and first responders more capable. However, there are always gaps present and areas in need of improvement. Major incident responses—such as Sept. 11 or Superstorm Sandy—exposed issues that need to be resolved to improve public safety response. As a result of the after-action reviews of these major incidents there was a national push to improve technology, especially technology involved in communications. AMU professor Giles Hoback discusses the benefits of such technology and the ongoing need for public safety agencies to embrace constant change.

On July 16, a lone gunman opened fire on a military recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, ultimately killing four Marines, one sailor, and injuring two more people. In the wake of this attack, there has been considerable public discussion about granting servicemembers the use of concealed weapons on military installations. But before enacting such a policy, considerations must be made about how law enforcement responds to active shooter scenarios to reduce the likelihood of “blue-on-blue” incidents. Here are suggestions for how police and military members can be trained to respond to an active shooter situation.

By Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Correspondent for In Homeland Security

Ankara has called for an emergency session with NATO membership under the treaty’s Article 4, fearing territorial integrity, political independence and security threats.