Texas Active Shooter Prevention Training Courses
Every day across our country, we share moments with our neighbors, family, coworkers, and friends in our communities. We go to work, church, or school, the grocery store, or the gas station. It’s easy to overlook these everyday moments, but as you’re going about your day, if you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, say something. By being alert and reporting suspicious activity to your local law enforcement, you can protect your family, neighbors, and community.
The objective of this training is to prepare you to be capable of identifying potentially suspicious situations. In this course, Preventing Violent Attacks: Empowering the Public Beyond “See Something, Say Something,” you’ll learn one of the fundamental insights into predictive behaviors indicative of violent acts. You’ll also learn how that knowledge can be used in your daily routine and why it is important.
By participating in this course, you will be equipped with tools to evaluate and appropriately identify abnormal behaviors. You’ll also learn how to report them. Upon completion, you will advance your understanding of the importance of situational awareness and how it can be used to protect yourself, your family, and your community.
What is suspicious activity?
Suspicious activity is any observed behavior that could indicate terrorism or terrorism-related crime. Behaviors could include, but are not limited to, unusual items or situations, eliciting information, and observation/surveillance. Some of these activities could be innocent—it’s up to law enforcement to determine whether the behavior warrants investigation.
Factors such as race, ethnicity, and/or religious affiliation are not suspicious. You should only report suspicious behavior and situations–an unattended backpack or package or someone breaking into a restricted area. Reports that document behavior that is reasonably indicative of criminal activity related to terrorism will be shared with federal partners. Some of the signs of terrorism-related suspicious activity include:
- Surveillance: A prolonged interest in or taking pictures/videos of personnel, facilities, security features, or infrastructure in an unusual or covert manner
- Stealing or diverting items such as equipment, uniforms, or badges that belong to a facility or secure site
- Testing or investigating a facility’s security or IT systems to assess strength or weakness
- Aviation activity, such as operating or interfering with the operation of an aircraft that poses a threat of harm to people and property
- Unauthorized people trying to enter a restricted area or impersonating authorized personnel
- Acquisition of expertise: Gaining skills or knowledge on a specific topic (e.g., facility security, military tactics, flying an aircraft)
- Acquisition and/or storage of unusual materials such as cell phones, radio controllers, or toxic materials
- Weapons collection and/or storage, including explosives, chemicals, or other destructive materials
Remember, we all play a role in keeping our communities safe. Public safety and security are everyone’s responsibility. If you see suspicious activity, do not report suspicious activity to the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, notify local law enforcement using the “5W’s” below. If there is an emergency, call 911.
- WHO did you see?
- WHAT did you see?
- WHEN did you see it?
- WHERE did it occur?
- WHY is it suspicious?
Remember to stay vigilant and say something when you see signs of suspicious activity.
With her more than two decades of experience—15 of them focused on security–Nikki J. Burgett, PMP, CPP is committed to creating security-minded cultures and responsible individuals by providing education and training on threat behavior indicators, planning, and responding to acts of violence. She has a vast spectrum of knowledge and an excellent method of delivering the course material.
As in all Nikki’s courses, everyone can be viewed as an instructor because they all bring their own unique experiences. Through sharing your experiences and facilitating learning among your peers, you will gain true knowledge. Nikki is professional and straightforward in her communication. Participants from past courses rave about how valued she makes students feel and consistently compliment her determination, model of professionalism, integrity, ethics, reliability, and competence.
About Nikki J. Burgett, PMP, CPP
Nikki J. Burgett PMP, CPP holds law enforcement credentials from the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education & Training (CLEET) and serves as the Training Coordinator for a municipal agency. She is a certified law enforcement instructor for Active Shooter and TacMed. Nikki developed and is actively teaching courses for law enforcement on Behavioral Pattern Detection and Terrorism Ideologies which have been certified for continued education through OK CLEET. She also teaches several courses for the State Department including Behavioral Observation Skills, Managing an Anti‐Terrorism Training Program, Crisis Management Exercise Design, Response to Active Shooter Incidents, Protecting Soft Targets, Critical Infrastructure Security Resilience, Critical Incident Management, and Instructor Development.