Technology to Deter and Prevent

Technology to Deter and Prevent

Can we use technology to deter and, when deterrence fails, protect people from the evil of active shooters?

Many will remember President Reagan’s televised address to the Nation in March 1983, where he discussed his plans to strengthen our Nation’s military capabilities.

• “We can’t afford to believe we will never be threatened (emphasis added). There have been two world wars in (Reagan’s) lifetime … (and) we were ill-prepared for both.  Had we been better prepared, peace might have been preserved (emphasis added).”
• “It is up to us, in our time, to choose, and choose wisely, between the hard but necessary task of preserving peace and freedom and the temptation to ignore our duty and blindly hope for the best while the enemies of freedom grow stronger day by day (emphasis added).”
• “What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation… that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?”
• “… I call upon the scientific community … to turn their great talents to the cause of mankind … to give us the means of rendering these weapons impotent and obsolete (emphasis added).”

President Reagan’s March 23, 1983 Address to the Nation (courtesy of The Reagan Library)

There are several key premises in his speech that still ring true today … and that stand the test of time

• There is evil in the world that means to do us harm
• Preparation (and demonstrated strength) are key deterrents to evil
• Technology can be a key contributor to defense and deterrence, protecting the lives of our citizens, and turning the tables in our favor

While Reagan’s remarks were oriented towards strategic weapons, the principles he conveyed are just as applicable today for defending against ANY threats to the populace.

It is a distinct honor for me to be a part of the Active Shooter Prevention Project (ASPP), LLC.  As a military veteran who took an oath “to defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, the ASPP team embodies an ethos of action … in preparation, deterrence, and protection against domestic enemies who wish to do us harm.  This is summed up in our motto #neverhere.  My focus is on the technology dimension of the ASPP mission, where we seek the talents of industry to help prevent active shooters from inflicting carnage on innocent people.

So, what if we could render an active shooter’s weapons useless?  Are there practical technological solutions to do this?   These answers would give us the capabilities to thwart active shooter intentions to do harm, to protect the people they wish to harm, and to give law enforcement the time and space needed to apprehend the shooter.

The good news is that today, we CAN render an active shooter’s weapons useless.  Using a combination of video, surveillance, identification, and drone technologies, active shooters can run, but they can’t hide … and their weapons are rendered inoperable.   It’s the technological equivalent of taking their weapon away from them … before any carnage occurs!

Imagine having this capability deployed in public venues – schools, churches, government buildings, sporting and entertainment venues – anyplace the population frequents, ones where a potential active shooter views them as a  “lucrative, soft target”

• The shooter tips their hand, showing themself by brandishing a weapon with the intent of doing harm
• The surveillance system identifies both the shooter and their weapon and deploys one or more drones to engage the shooter. Law enforcement and security personnel are ALSO alerted to the threat and implement their response actions
• Distracted by the drones, the shooter is forced to change their game plan, all the while being tracked/followed by the drones (did I mention you can run, but you can’t hide?)
• At the right moment, the drone(s) move in to attack the weapon (not the shooter), rendering their weapon(s) inoperable
• Continuously cued by the same surveillance and warning systems, law enforcement officials swoop in and capture the would-be shooter

The above is not a script from a TV drama.  The ASPP team, working with local officials across the country, are putting these measures and systems in place – TODAY!

Want to learn more?  Please reach out to us https://aspppro.com to begin your active shooter prevention journey, and join us in our quest Destination #NEVERHERE

Technology to Deter and Prevent – re: Chris Grollnek, Active Shooter Expert, P.R.O. Model Founder