Police One: The Public Must Assume a Role in Their Own Defense

In the aftermath of the New Zealand mosque attacks and the blood dancing that's happened halfway around the globe here in America, some politicians want to impose more gun control laws.  When, in fact, we need more guns in the hands of good guys.

After all, the second mosque struck in Kiwiland had an armed worshiper who produced his own gun and cut short the lunatic's murderous rampage, saving countless lives. The media seem keen to minimize or even omit that aspect of this story.

Along those lines, the good folks over at Police One make a very articulate case for the public taking an active role in their own protection. Mike Wood authored it in Rapid Response: 7 key takeaways from the New Zealand mosque attacks:

I’ve written about what I call the “third generation” of active shooter response, and this tragedy underscores my points. Regardless of where you are in the world, whether it be a synagogue in Pennsylvania, a church in Texas, or a mosque in New Zealand, the police will almost always be absent when the attacker strikes.

Faith-based organizations, schools, workplaces and public venues must take an active role in their own security, and leave behind the fiction that the police will be able to protect them from evil during the initial minutes of an attack.

The public must embrace target hardening, security protocols, emergency response training, security teams, medical training, emergency communications and armed defense preparations to ensure they can discourage attacks, deny access and defeat attackers prior to police response.

In the live-streamed attack on the Masjid Al Noor Mosque, the attacker was on site for six minutes killing innocents and was able to escape and take his attack mobile, several minutes before police responded.

Time is a precious commodity in attacks like these, and the killing is often done before the police have arrived. It’s no longer acceptable for the public to outsource their security to the police – they must take an active role in their own defense and defense preparations.

[emphasis added]

From houses of worship to shopping malls to sporting arenas, America has no shortage of soft targets. Lunatics and terrorists know this. As schools improve their security, losers including political extremists and religious whack jobs will turn to other public gathering places to inflict their carnage.

We must stand ready to protect ourselves, our families and, where possible, other innocent life. Leaving our personal security to others, especially in this day and age, borders on the negligent. We are — and always have been — our own first responders.