Assess facility layout and access points for active assailant vulnerability and hardening options.
Security Management
Active Assailant Response Planning for Corporate Facilities
Builds an active assailant response plan for corporate facilities covering avoid-deny-defend employee training, facility hardening, law enforcement coordination and post-incident recovery.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
An active assailant incident unfolds in minutes, and the outcome depends heavily on decisions employees make before police arrive, yet many corporate facilities still rely on a generic lockdown notice rather than a rehearsed avoid-deny-defend response. This course builds a complete active assailant response plan: hardening facility layout and access points against a moving threat, training employees to avoid, deny or defend based on their location when an incident begins, coordinating the facility's response with arriving law enforcement, and managing recovery and support once the incident ends. Sessions include a facility walk-through exercise identifying hardening opportunities, a scenario-based avoid-deny-defend decision drill, and a law enforcement coordination simulation covering rendezvous points and building information handover. Participants leave with a facility hardening checklist, an employee training script and a recovery plan covering communication, welfare support and site restoration.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Train employees to apply avoid, deny or defend decisions based on their location during an incident.
Design lockdown procedures and communication scripts that function without a public announcement system.
Coordinate facility information handover with arriving law enforcement during an active incident.
Plan reunification and welfare support for employees during and after an active assailant event.
Manage internal and external communication in the hours following an active assailant incident.
Run a post-incident recovery plan covering site restoration, counselling access and lessons captured.
Who Should Attend
Corporate security managers responsible for active assailant preparedness planning.
Facilities and workplace safety leads who own building layout and access control decisions.
Human resources leaders who manage employee welfare during and after a violent incident.
Emergency response team members who conduct lockdown and evacuation drills.
Site or building managers responsible for coordinating with arriving law enforcement.
Communications leads who manage internal and external messaging during an active threat.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Facility Assessment and Hardening
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Identifying Vulnerabilities in Facility Layout
- Walk facility access points, corridors and open areas to identify active assailant vulnerabilities.
- Assess sightlines and choke points that affect both threat movement and occupant escape.
- Review current lock hardware and door construction for lockdown suitability.
- Prioritise hardening investments by combining vulnerability severity and occupancy density.
Session 2Implementing Physical Hardening Measures
- Upgrade interior door locks to allow rapid lockdown from inside a room.
- Install barricade devices or furniture solutions suited to rooms without lockable doors.
- Improve visibility at key points using signage, mirrors or camera coverage adjustments.
- Test hardening measures under realistic conditions before relying on them operationally.
02Avoid-Deny-Defend Training
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Teaching the Avoid-Deny-Defend Decision Model
- Explain when avoiding the area and evacuating is the appropriate first response option.
- Teach denial techniques including locking, barricading and silencing a room when evacuation is unsafe.
- Cover defend as a last-resort option only when avoid and deny are not viable.
- Adapt the decision model to different facility zones such as open-plan and enclosed offices.
Session 2Running Scenario-Based Employee Drills
- Run tabletop scenarios that require employees to choose and justify a response option.
- Practise lockdown actions physically without simulating violence in a way that traumatises staff.
- Debrief drills to correct hesitation points and reinforce confident decision-making.
- Repeat training periodically so response behaviour remains current for new employees.
03Incident Response and Law Enforcement Coordination
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Activating Lockdown and Internal Communication
- Trigger facility-wide lockdown using methods that work without relying on a single system.
- Communicate concise, actionable instructions to occupants during the active phase of an incident.
- Direct security staff to secure entry points without placing themselves in direct danger.
- Maintain a real-time incident log for command and later law enforcement debrief.
Session 2Coordinating with Arriving Law Enforcement
- Prepare building plans and camera access in advance for rapid handover to responding officers.
- Designate a rendezvous point where security staff brief law enforcement on arrival.
- Direct officers toward known threat location and occupant status without delaying their entry.
- Support law enforcement search and clearance operations as directed rather than independently.
04Recovery and Continuous Improvement
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reunification and Welfare Support
- Establish a reunification point where employees and family members can be accounted for safely.
- Coordinate trauma counselling and welfare support access in the days following an incident.
- Manage return-to-site logistics once law enforcement releases the facility.
- Track employee wellbeing over the following weeks to identify ongoing support needs.
Session 2Post-Incident Review and Plan Updates
- Conduct a structured after-action review covering response timeline and decision points.
- Update the hardening plan and training programme based on identified gaps.
- Coordinate messaging with legal and communications teams for external enquiries.
- Report post-incident findings and improvement actions to executive leadership.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
Complete your registration
We will contact you within one business day to confirm.
Ready to start?
Reserve your seat and start building the skill.