Risk assessment, prevention and safety tips from local constable, security consultant

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Coryell County Constable for Precinct 1, Guy Beveridge, has served the residents of Coryell County since being elected to office in 2013.

However, Beveridge also spends his time traveling as a security consultant throughout Texas and other parts of the United States. He helps business owners, managers, churches, insurance carriers, and police assess safety risks and create a plan to prevent violence, as well as a plan on what to do in the case of an active threat.

In light of recent mass shootings that have taken place in the United States, such as in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, Beveridge sat down with the Leader-Press to provide some insight on how individuals and businesses/organizations can prevent threats, or in the case of an active threat, have a way of escape.

Beveridge said that having a handgun is just one tool that someone could have as part of their protection plan.

“When you are working on a project, you need the right tools for the outcome that you want. If someone wants to carry a handgun, it's because they want to be able to defend themselves from somebody with a firearm.”

He said having a handgun is something that could be just one piece of a holistic safety and security program, whether for a business, corporation, healthcare facility, or even a school.

“The more prepared you are, the more systems you have in place, or layers of protection you have in place, the harder it is for ‘bangs’ to happen,” Beveridge said, referring to the book, “Left of Bang,” written by two former Marines.

He talked about active shooter scenarios, saying that active shooters usually have a period of pre-planning and commitment. He pointed to the 2012 Aurora, Colorado theater shooter, who planned for more than a year.

Beveridge also talked about observable behaviors that serve as warnings for individuals who need intervention. For example, Beveridge said that the Secret Service's Department of Education did a study after the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School and found that roughly 93 percent of active shooters displayed observable behaviors as precursors before they ever committed the act.

He said that schools can develop an evaluation of pattern recognition, so when there's a troubled student, there are a number of parameters or a different checkmarks that would point to the need for intervention.

“It is not just one thing that says, ‘Hey, we need to get in a student's life.’ It's multiple things that say, ‘Okay, we definitely need to have a direct conversation with parents with the students. We need to involve law enforcement.’”

Beveridge said that businesses and schools need to devote time to preparing for an active threat, and spend time, money, and energy to prepare people for a threat.

“One of the things that I like to say when I teach is that the body can't go where the brain has never been. If it has never been pre-programmed, my body is not going to magically rise to some superhuman performance in any sort of crisis.”

Beveridge said the best way is a combination of lecture, plus hands-on training that will empower them to know what to do in a crisis.

“Just simply putting up colorful posters and having a fancy PowerPoint once a year just really doesn't cut it.”

Also, the handgun is not always the first line of defense. For example, Beveridge said that license to carry requirements and gun range qualifications are mainly personal self-defense tools and not necessarily for use in large spaces like a big box store.

“if you're going to start putting that as a part of your plan for your business, your school, your hospital, that you definitely have to have an additional annual training tool.”

Beveridge said risk assessment exposes opportunities and gaps in physical security, and acts as a roadmap on how to properly and effectively spend time, money, and energy making the environment as secure as it can be.

Risk assessment is also part of something that he and his wife practice with their children, when they leave the house, which they consider a secure location, and head to Walmart.

“We play a little game called, if this, then that. It’s simply, if this happens, then this is what we are going to do.”

Beveridge gave the example of going to the movies and making sure they note the exits and know where they will go in the event of a threat. Or if they can’t make it to the exit, what their plan will be if there is a threat. Then once outside, where they would go, and what they would do, such as making a lot of noise and let people know to call the police.

He said it’s to raise the kids’ level of self-awareness and situational awareness, two things important in a society that spends most of our time looking at a small screen in front of our faces.

Beveridge recommends that when entering a public space individuals pause for a moment to assess the environment to improve situational awareness.

“When entering someplace like Walmart or another big box store, walk inside and move off to the side so you don’t impede the flow of traffic. Take about 30 seconds to one minute, paying attention to the sounds, smells, and sights, the normal environment.”

Beveridge said it helps the individual know what the baseline is, and whenever that baseline is interrupted, with anything new – whether it be sounds, smells, or sights – they can take steps to preserve their life.

Beveridge has more tips and information available on his business websites, Guybeveridge.com and protectorstoolkit.com.