Tactical, mental, and intellectual preparedness for police officers is imperative in the prevention of loss of lives during mass shootings. Preparedness has been found to be a serious hindrance to mass loss of lives during mass shootings. According to Randol (2012) , community policing efforts where police officers are trained on emergency responses is positively correlated with terrorism preparedness. This is to imply that where there is a lack of police preparedness for mass shooting situations, then it is likely that more lives will be lost.
Schafer, et al. (2010, p.316) argue that, “given the recent high-profile incidents…campuses are concerned that “copycat” offenders might emerge within their jurisdiction.” It means that most of students in schools today are aware that mass shooting events may occur anytime. Therefore, it is recommended that preparedness efforts be customized to integrate efforts by local law enforcers and schools. Psalms 82:3-4 states “give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Instead of focusing on the ongoing debate as to whether solo entries should be allowed, police officers should instead focus on preparedness. They should take it upon themselves to put the prevention of loss of life and damage to property as their key motivator. In the end, God wants us to protect the weak and vulnerable. Police officers can do this by ensuring that they are skilled in critical response techniques like CPR and that they maintain a strong mental ability that will allow them to efficiently neutralize mass shooters regardless of the availability of back up. Although solo entries ideally may work to prevent further loss of life during mass shootings, police officers should strive to follow the recommended guidelines. It is recommended that police officers approach such an event in units of more than four police officers. According to Skogan, Van Craen, and Hennessy (2015, p. 319) , police officers should be encouraged to endorse, “giving citizens a voice, granting them dignity and respect, demonstrating neutrality, and (with the least enthusiasm) trusting them to do the right thing” as components of procedural justice especially within a community policing framework. The key here is the need to remain neutral within a mass shooting event. Although solo entries may end up saving lives, a solo police officer should be trusted to maintain a straight head and follow the law. After all, guidelines are implemented to ensure that rescue operations go ahead seamlessly. Romans 13:1 states that “let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Therefore, Christians should follow the laws of the land regardless of the situations they may find themselves in. This is because authority comes from God and should be always respected. On the other hand, police officers who disregard the law end up demeaning the success of policing efforts. Terpstra (2011) states that “local democratic control of the police is often smothered by the competing professional, managerial, cultural and central government forces.” Therefore, the individual ambitions of police officers should not deter the success of operations during mass shootings.
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References
Randol, B. M. (2012). The organizational correlates of terrorism response preparedness in local police departments. Criminal justice policy review , 23 (3), 304-326.
Schafer, J. A., Heiple, E., Giblin, M. J., & Burruss Jr, G. W. (2010). Critical incident preparedness and response on post-secondary campuses. Journal of Criminal Justice , 38 (3), 311-317.
Skogan, W. G., Van Craen, M., & Hennessy, C. (2015). Training police for procedural justice. Journal of experimental criminology , 11 (3), 319-334 .
Terpstra, J. (2011). Governance and accountability in community policing. Crime, law and social change , 55 (2-3), 87-104.
