Improving the Law Enforcement Response to Active Shooter Incidents: An Analysis of After-Action Reports

Abstract

We examine all publicly available after-action reports (AARs) on active shooter incidents in the U.S. from 1999 through 2022 ( n = 31). We conduct a thematic analysis of recommendations provided in the AARs to identify common areas for improvement in the law enforcement response to these incidents. We find considerable overlap in the recommendations across AARs, with themes related to pre-incident planning, training, inter-agency coordination, incident command, and communication being the most common. Findings indicate recurring challenges for law enforcement, suggesting agencies may not be effectively learning from prior active shooter incidents. We discuss the potential of AARs to strengthen agency preparedness and promote organizational learning. We further provide recommendations to improve AARs and to centralize and disseminate their findings.