Workers compensation fund leads the way for businesses in active shooter preparedness.

• Author: Biton, Adva
• Position: Around Utah

Sandy -- According to figures from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program, over 3,000 people have been killed in mass shootings in the past 35 years. Mass shootings, defined by the FBI as a single shooter killing four or more people (not including shooter suicide), are not exactly common--but there is still plenty of cause for concern. The FBI has confirmed mass shootings have risen sharply since the year 2006. The New York Times reports that from 2007 to 2013, there were an average of 16.4 shootings nationally, as compared to the 6.4 shootings that occurred from 2000 to 2006.

Utah, too, is not immune--since 1999, there have been shootings at Trolley Square, KSL and the Mormon Family History Library, to name a few.

It's easy for businesses and individuals to want to stick their head in the sand with the reassuring thought that it could never happen to them, and with any luck, that statement holds true for every company around the country. But just as schools teach children what to do during a tornado, or companies invest in extinguishers and alarms in case of a fire, it's important to have a contingency plan for an active shooter situation.

This is exactly what WORKERS COMPENSATION FUND (WCF) in Sandy did. With the help of the SANDY POLICE DEPARTMENT and its SWAT team, WCF was able to inform and educate its staff about active shooter situations, complete with an exercise where employees were able to put their knowledge to the test.

"As a leader in workplace safety, we need to be proactive in practicing and implementing safety techniques," says Craig Kerkman, WCF's business continuity administrator. "An actual drill is one of the best ways we can train for a real-life incident."

WCF's active shooter education was comprehensive. All employees were informed of the coming exercise, briefed on shooter situations and the Department of Homeland Security's recommend actions during such an event. Then, WCF staged an active shooter event within the building, where two employees (both former police officers) smuggled training weapons into the otherwise-secure building and opened fire (with blanks) in two separate locations of the building. SWAT was then called in to sweep the building and eliminate the threat, just as would occur in a real shooter event.

WCF took steps to make sure all employees were as comfortable as possible with the exercise. Anyone unwilling to participate in the drill...