The First Preventers Playbook: How to Intervene, Disrupt, and Prevent Tragedy Before It Strikes - Paperback

by Rick Shaw (Author)

How many more shootings and other acts of violence will it take before real change is made?
We need better prevention of tragedies and incidents of violence of all sorts, and research reveals better prevention is possible, but most organizations and communities do not have a program to complement their first responders.
Leaders in schools, higher education, organizations, and communities are beginning to look for prevention solutions, and understanding how to implement a program is key to leading the way. By educating, empowering, and equipping first preventers to collect, assess, and connect the dots and take the right actions to disrupt at-risk individuals on the pathway to violence, more violent incidents and tragedies can be prevented, and fewer first responders will have to put their lives on the line.
This is where The First Preventers Playbook comes in. The First Preventers Playbook presents proven research-based approaches to show all community members how to take action when faced with different potential risks. It also provides a play-by-play for executive management team members who are responsible for establishing effective prevention and who are concerned with improving safety for schools, organizations, and communities. With this guide, more incidents and tragedies can be prevented before the need to call first responders even arises.

Back Jacket

For too long, we have ignored the signs of mass casualty attacks and refused to work together to 'connect the dots.' Rick has given us a road map to do just that. Every community in the nation would benefit from the lessons that Rick is teaching. We need to work together to prevent attacks, not just respond to them--and this book shows us how.
--CAPTAIN KEVIN GRIGER, Sarpy County Sheriff's Office

"Without question, this book will shape the future of violence prevention."
--JASON THOMAS DESTEIN, MS Criminal Justice, violence prevention strategist, adjunct professor

"The First Preventers Playbook is essential reading for everyone. In the current landscape of violence, it is easy to feel disempowered and helpless, yet every person is capable of being a first preventer. In this important work, Rick Shaw demonstrates how we can prevent violence both as individuals and as a community."
--DR. NATHAN BROOKS, forensic psychologist and senior lecturer, CQUniversity, Australia

"Community members will accept their roles better if we can be all on the same team. Having The First Preventers Playbook will achieve this!"
--STEPHEN P. LUCE, executive director, Indiana Sheriffs' Association, Ret.