Critical Incident Management: A Complete Response Guide, 2nd Edition

Critical Incident Management: A Complete Response Guide, 2nd Edition, by Vincent Faggiano, John McNall, and Tom Gillespie. CRC Press, www.crcpress.com; 221 pages; $83.95; also available as an e-book.

Active-shooter incidents within schools and universities in recent months have illustrated the challenges faced by first responders and others in charge of handling such dangerous events. If an incident is not managed well, things can get out of hand quickly and more people may be injured or killed.

In Critical Incident Management, the authors draw on their long experience in law enforcement and training to create a guide for preventing, dealing with, and mitigating critical incidents including natural disasters, fires, terrorism, and crime. Not only do the authors provide excellent instruction on the roles involved in an emergency, they also emphasize the need for the manager to adequately assess a situation, then do the most critical job—manage it well and potentially save lives.

Practical exercises make this book a useful training tool. The discussion of factors common to all critical incidents and the steps to control them make this a great management reference for any security professional. Once the steps are mastered, a manager will be able to handle most any situation. Although experience is the best teacher, this book provides an excellent foundation for managing critical incidents.

Reviewer: Terry V. Culver, CPP, CAS (Certified Antiterrorism Specialist), is a security program specialist for Georgia Tech Research Institute. She has more than 25 years’ experience in both defense and industry security management. She is a member of ASIS International.