Violence Prevention Symposiums, Wildfire Evacuations, Violent Extremism & More
Profiles in Preparedness #22
Towards the end of last year, I had the opportunity to join The Bureau Consortium as an advisor—a group of professionals I deeply respect for their commitment to violence prevention and threat mitigation.
What I find to be so impressive is that they aren't just talking about the issues; they’re actively creating spaces for learning and collaboration across disciplines.
This year, The Bureau Consortium is hosting three in-person conferences focused on school safety, corporate security, and threat management—taking place in New York, Denver, and Philadelphia. The best part? These events are free to attend for practitioners and professionals in the field.
Of course, making high-quality, no-cost events possible requires strong partners. If you or your organization are in a position to support one of these conferences as a sponsor, let me know. I’d love to connect you with the event team.
This Week‘s Reads
Here are a few standout reads from this week with insights, ideas, and perspectives that caught my attention.
Reports | Wildfire Notifications & Evacuations
As part of a wildfire evacuation planning project, I recently took the time to sit down with two in-depth reports from NIST focused on lessons learned from the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, CA.
The first—Notification, Evacuation, Traffic, and Temporary Refuge Areas—dives deep into how notifications were delivered, how traffic was managed, and what role temporary refuge areas played when escape routes failed.
The second—Evacuation and Sheltering Considerations: Assessment, Planning, and Execution—offers a broader framework for understanding how communities can plan and execute evacuations and sheltering efforts under pressure.
If you need to (or want to) improve your evacuation planning, both reports are worth your time. They’re long but packed with insights from one of the most tragic and complex evacuations in recent history.
And if you prefer video over reading, NIST’s 2023 Wildfire Days event covered many of these same findings and more—six hours of presentations are available here.
Report | Beyond Belief: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in America
Put out last week by the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, this report is an important addition to the conversation about how we identify and prevent violence before it occurs. It highlights how self-radicalization has overtaken traditional pathways, a shift that many organizations are still learning how to address.
What stands out to me is how the report bridges academic models with real-world stories showing how “push, pull, and personal” factors create conditions for violence to emerge. For anyone building or improving a threat assessment program, this should be on your reading list. The report isn’t just for federal law enforcement; the lessons are relevant for schools, workplaces, and local agencies trying to stay left of bang.
Whether you’re designing training, standing up a new program, or reviewing an incident that didn’t go the way it should have, this is the type of foundational material that can shape how we prepare.
I’m still working through it, but it’s already clear that Beyond Belief is one of those reports that will stick with me.
Article | Decision-Making on the Fringes
I know the two reports above aren’t exactly light reading—but they’re important. To balance them out, I want to share something I wrote last November on decision-making under uncertainty.
This piece digs into the reality many public safety leaders face: making high-stakes decisions with limited information, unclear timelines, and rapidly changing conditions. It’s based on real conversations from the field and the recurring challenge of acting without full clarity.
Some of the takeaways in this article have directly influenced a new product we’ll be launching for our subscribers next week, so stay tuned!
When You’re Ready
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