The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 26, Number 1 | Page 11

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | September 2019
Common Operating Picture—New Jersey Creates a Model for the Nation
Keith A. Germain, Chief of Police, Barnegat Police Department;
Co-Founder, Critical Response Group
With the most recent active killer incidents in Texas and Ohio fresh in our memory, the May 2019 mass shooting in Virginia
Beach seems like it happened much longer than 3-4 months ago. As we continue to see this revolving door of active killer
events continue with seemingly no end in sight, it's important to draw out the valuable lessons learned through each response.
The headlines, facts, and circumstances of these incidents are, as is often the case, interchangeable and virtually
indistinguishable from the countless active killer incidents of the last few decades: An aggrieved and well-armed killer targets a
school, public event or workplace and ultimately kills large numbers of innocent people.
While these events are incredibly disturbing, they are often precipitated and initiated by circumstances and people who are out
of our control. The major factor that is squarely in our control, however-- and one for which we are the best trained in the
world-- is the response to the active killer incident.
Unfortunately, before the first Virginia Beach after-action report sees the light of day, we already have evidence from open
source media that a problem that has plagued us from the beginning of armed conflict once again reared its head in Virginia
Beach.
That problem-- one that has been in stark relief from Parkland, to Las Vegas, to Ft. Lauderdale-- is the lack of geospatial
awareness and a truly common operating picture.
Avoidable Challenges in Virginia Beach
The audio from the Virginia Beach active killer incident once again exposes the extreme challenges facing first responders who
despite being trained, equipped, and desperate to engage the threat—often do not have the knowledge of the location and
common operating picture that they need to effectively respond. Look at the following examples and exchanges that took place
in the dynamic response to the incident:
“Caller is advising of a male outside building 2, possibly shot.”
“Which building is building 2?”
“Which building is next to building 2?”
“What’s the location of the officer who’s been shot?”
“We’re on a main road across the street from the post office.”
“When you say front, are you talking about the occupational health side?”
"Can we clarify what north, south, and east is?"
"Which side of the building are we calling ‘alpha’?"
“We have citizens bringing one casualty out to a side door now.”
“Which side door?” “Which side of the building?”
“I’m set up on the alpha side with my sniper rifle, where do you need me...?”
“I’m just trying to figure out the label of the building… Everybody’s referring to ‘he’s on the east side’-- is that the courthouse
side?”
In fact, if you listen to the audio of the Virginia Beach Police Department radio transmissions in its entirety, you’ll hear that the
vast majority of communication revolves around trying to communicate and understand location-based information. With no
common operating picture or ability to easily communicate location, first responders in Virginia Beach were left to create their
own framework of reference on the fly. And while they did an admirable job under intense circumstances, the truth is that they
shouldn't have to.
New Jersey-- A Model for the Nation
Nearly two years ago, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police partnered with the Critical Response Group, Inc. and
began what has grown to be a model for the nation. Working together, the use of Collaborative Response Graphics (CRGs) has
been introduced throughout New Jersey as a cost-effective and standardized battle-proven technique for providing first
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