How Safety Planning Can Help Us Overcome Our Fears

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When most of us watch the evening news and hear about the unrest around the nation, it makes us fearful, especially in this climate of erratic and violent behavior.

Current crime statistics are sobering – with reports of hundreds of deaths and injuries from active shooting incidents around the nation.

In its most recent report, the FBI has identified 61 active shooting incidents in 31 states in 2021 that killed 103 people and wounded 140 more. Other sources cite 611 mass shootings so far this year, which amounts to nearly two a day every single day. And the past two years have seen an increase in shooting incidents and deaths at schools, shops, and community events.

So, as school officials, students, parents, and community leaders become increasingly concerned, they want to know right now if there is anything we can do to feel safer and actually be safer. 

When it comes to issues of safety, security, and emergency planning management, there is no better professional to ask than expert Michael Johnson of Clearpath EPM. 

“Generally, people are fearful of what might happen, so they are afraid to even plan for it,” explains Johnson. “I believe you eliminate the fear by being proactive and ready to respond to any potential disruption.”

He said that one key way to understand the security training that Clearpath excels in offering is the four Ds of security – Detect, Deny, Deter, and Delay. This is a much more effective way to mitigate a problem than to come from a place of fear.

 “For me and Clearpath, fear stands for Future Events Aren’t Real. So, what happens is we become fearful and afraid of what might happen or what could happen,” Johnson explains. “If you step back from that and say, ‘Okay, let’s think about what might happen but then think about how I might respond if that happens, that’s where the preparedness and the planning come in.”

 Johnson, the Clearpath CEO and co-founder with Bruce Mills, has used his extensive law enforcement and security expertise and additional management background to help schools, houses of worship, businesses, and event organizers around the world learn the training, tools, and know-how to make their establishments safer. 

Founded in 2014, Clearpath EPM is a technology and consulting firm that helps U.S. and international schools, businesses, events, and places of worship build and maintain robust emergency preparedness, risk, and safety programs.

The company’s unique expertise in preparedness and the preventive aspects of emergency planning management ready its long-time clients to respond to any disruptive event or emergency.

The mission of Clearpath EPM is a big one – “to keep people safe, and healthy, and to make the world a better place.”

This mission is clearly being carried out according to the U.S. and international schools and other venues Clearpath has worked with over the years. “The EPM Campus Resiliency Team course had an immediate impact on my school,” said Emily Cave, the Head of School for the Bay Academy.

“The course gave me a way to bring all of the people responsible for our campus safety onto the same page quickly,” Cave added. “The information is clear, concise, and direct, which has allowed for our multiple cultures on campus to have a shared understanding and practice.”

After a 28-year diplomatic security and law enforcement career within the U.S. Government, Johnson entered the private sector in 2010 as an executive with a global risk consulting company.

Johnson is a lead trainer and facilitator for several non-profit education organizations and has provided safety, security, and campus resiliency training to hundreds of school and business leaders worldwide. He is a Certified Protection Professional as awarded by ASIS International, a security association made up of 34,000 professionals.

He stated, “We are constantly creating new methodologies, training support, and technology solutions that help our clients around the world prepare to respond to the ever-changing threat landscapes.”

This hard-working professional also has a big heart and believes in the importance of giving back. As such, Johnson serves on the Board of Directors for Winterfest Inc., the Board of Trustees for the Center for Spiritual Living in Fort Lauderdale, He also is on the advisory boards for the National Association of School and Campus Police Chiefs.