When the Threat Actor Gets Through

In the military, a choke point (or chokepoint) is a terrain feature on land such as a valley, a bridge or at sea such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass, sometimes on a substantially narrower front and therefore greatly decreasing its combat power, to reach its objective. The advantage of a chokepoint can allow a disadvantaged inferior defending force to thwart a greater attacker by limiting the attacker's choices on how to shoot, move and/or communicate.

Preventing Rapidly Involved Mass Murderers

In a similar fashion, modern threat actors have the upper-hand. They have the upper hand with the element of surprise; in most cases they enter the fight with superior fire-power; and they are not bound by any rules of conduct. This means they can use any tool for violence, they can attack at a place and time of their choosing, and they evolve their tactics to suit their environment in unpredictable ways.

The defenders, in this case, are those who are interested in protecting our kids. We are at a disadvantage because we can't disarm everyone; we cant strip search everyone entering a public building and we can't read people's minds.

With all these variables, how can our defenders see the attack coming? How can we know someone's violent intent? How can we prevent the violence from ever occurring?

Choke Points Currently in Security

One industry has had a lot of practice managing threats using chokepoints - the airline industry.

• They limit where people can enter restricted areas.

• They reduce the likelihood of success by instituting random spot checks.

• They have different ways of limiting access to common areas based on need to enter.

Version: 7.28.1 | 7/28/2022