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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 →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

The last 40 days or so have been fantastic!! Why? I have had the opportunity to connect with people all around the world (so many time zones!) to share visionary and proactive prevention possibilities based on my 20+ years of extensive research and successes in the real world by early adopters of the First Preventers framework and Awareity’s award-winning tools. Why is this important?  Because in the real world leaders of schools, organizations, and communities are overwhelmed with increasing fears and chaos due to increasing incidents involving violence, shootings, crimes, suicides, abuse, bullying, covid, and numerous other issues, and they are looking for something better.Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

With both the bad guys and the good guys warning of increased ransomware attacks, it’s more important than ever that your organization and community are ready. Do you know how to prevent these attacks? No one remembers everything they learned on that one day of annual training, which is why it’s critically important that you have solutions for the other 364 days after the annual training day. The solution: Patching Your People. Request more information and a FREE Password Guide with tips & tricks here!Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

A Lesson Learned is knowledge gained from incidents, near misses, tragedies, lawsuits, etc.   Knowledge gained from Lessons Learned are just “recipes” until they become Lessons Implemented that empower and equip people with the right strategies and tools to take real actions that lead to better results. Lessons learned from increasing acts of violence (community, workplace, school, nurse, etc.) are shared in numerous news articles across numerous websites on a daily basis and lessons learned could be occurring in your organization too. With so many Lessons Learned, here are two important questions: Are you and your executive leaders paying attention to the Lessons Learned andRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

A Lesson Learned is knowledge gained from incidents, near misses, tragedies, lawsuits, etc.   Knowledge gained from Lessons Learned are just “recipes” until they become Lessons Implemented that empower and equip people with the right strategies and tools to take real actions that lead to better results. Lessons Learned from cyberattacks are shared in numerous news articles across numerous websites, software updates, press releases, etc. on a daily basis and could even be coming directly from your IT department too. With so many Lessons Learned, here are two important questions: Are you and your executive leaders paying attention to the Lessons Learned and collecting themRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, First Preventer

Lessons learned from 20+ years of incidents and tragedies have exposed the dangerous and common gaps, silos, disconnects, and flawed recycled thinking. Eliminating common gaps, silos, disconnects, and flawed recycled thinking requires business leaders and community leaders to understand the lessons learned and then take real actions to implement the lessons learned. For example, lessons learned exposed how most (if not all) organizations and communities experiencing shootings, bombings, acts of violence, and other incidents and tragedies HAD: MULTIPLE Pre-incident indicators MULTIPLE Incident reporting options MULTIPLE Sources of indicators and information MULTIPLE Record management systems MULTIPLE Community resources MULTIPLE Law enforcement resources MULTIPLE Laws prohibiting violenceRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

From the very beginnings of the Internet, people have been one of the most common and most targeted gaps for cyberattacks. Why? Because hackers know it is easier to hack an unaware person than it is to hack hardware and software. In fact, evidence reveals most ransomware attacks, were the result of phishing attacks where one or more unaware people were the gap that allowed the attack to succeed. As cyberattacks continue to be more sophisticated, the costs, losses, liabilities, recovery, and other consequences associated with cyberattacks are soaring. Cyber attackers are not only more sophisticated, but they are also constantly changing and adapting theirRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

The Nashville bomb attack on Christmas morning 2020 exposes the fundamental flaws and the urgent need to revolutionize community safety. We know, based on the post-event reporting, that the Nashville attack should have never happened, and yet it did. How many more tragedies have to happen before calls to revolutionize community safety and prevention result in real action? Since attacks like Columbine in 1999 and 9-11 in 2001, thousands of attacks have occurred even though the at-risk individuals responsible for the attacks exhibited concerning behaviors, warning signs, and pre-incident indicators that community members observed and reported days, weeks, and months before the attack. Too manyRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, 6 Stages

Threat Assessment Teams (TATs) play a very important role in prevention efforts and making organizations and communities safer and are even more critical today due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has created more stressors and even more at-risk individuals for TATs to address. TATs have existed for a very long time in schools, higher education institutions, organizations, and communities, but increasing violence, suicides, and other incidents create concerns and questions on what is missing. Threat Assessment Teams: A Brief History TATs are often one of the main topics of discussion after horrific tragedies. For example, after the Columbine Massacre in April 1999 federal entities likeRead More →