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The call comes in.
Someone's been shot - there is a fight going on - someone's been threatened - someone's being stalked by an ex-boyfriend - someone's threatening suicide - someone wants to put a stop to the "Bullying" behavior that's been going on in his office.
These are just a few examples of the types of incidents reported.
How each agency responds to these reports will differ, not only among agencies but also within each agency, because the circumstances surrounding each situation are different. Even in agencies that are highly structured and have well-thought-out procedures in place, the response will necessarily depend on:
What has been learned from agencies' many years of experience is that the most effective way to handle these situations is to take a team approach, rather than having one office handle a situation alone. In some cases of workplace homicides, it became apparent that the situation got out of control because personnel specialists did not inform security about a problem employee, or coworkers were not warned about the threatening behavior of an ex-employee, or one agency specialist felt he had to "go it alone" in handling the situation.
Agencies should have plans in place ahead of time so that emergency and non-emergency situations can be dealt with as soon as possible. However, it is also necessary to build the maximum amount of flexibility possible into any plan.