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

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.

RICK SHAW is a prevention specialist, pathway to prevention thought leader, author, and trusted adviser to organizations and communities. He has been researching the profile of failed interventions and preventions for over twenty years. Rick founded Awareity in 2004 and FirstPreventers.org in 2019.