Most active shooter incidents end before police arrive, and on isolated island campuses response may take longer still. Clery Act guidance does not specifically address island jurisdictions. This paper provides the protocol architecture for institutions where a quick police response cannot be assumed.
Abstract
Comprehensive campus safety framework for island and geographically isolated institutions addressing active threat response, behavioral assessment, Clery Act compliance, and Title IX coordination under conditions of extended law enforcement response times. All ISPI research is free under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Key Findings
In the FBI's 2000–2013 study, 60 percent of active shooter incidents ended before police arrived
In ISPI's analysis, island colleges face Clery jurisdictional questions that general guidance does not specifically address
BTAM team composition must account for the professional and social overlap between assessors and subjects in small island campus communities
Summary of the paper
"Campus Safety Framework for Geographically Isolated Institutions" asks how campus active threat plans should be designed where law enforcement response may take longer than in metropolitan settings.
It starts from federal research and guidance: the FBI found that most active shooter incidents from 2000 to 2013 ended before police arrived, and federal school planning guidance says individuals must be prepared to act before officers arrive. The October 2026 revision removes unsourced response-time figures and anecdotes.
What the paper finds
- Occupants act first. In the FBI's study, 60 percent of incidents ended before police arrived, and 44 of 63 incidents with a known duration ended in five minutes or less.
- Longer response changes the plan, in ISPI's analysis: longer self-protective action, more chance a threat moves, more reliance on on-site resources, and heavier communication demands.
- Clery questions for island colleges. Multi-county campuses, adjacency to Native Hawaiian lands and territorial law raise jurisdictional questions that general guidance does not specifically address.
What it recommends
- Campuses: assess actual local response times and calibrate active threat plans to them.
- Hawaii DOE and University of Hawaii: commission a formal response time study.
- U.S. Department of Education: issue Clery guidance on island jurisdictional questions.
- Threat assessment teams: adopt cultural calibration before deploying BTAM processes.
Who it's for
Campus safety directors, school and university leaders, Clery compliance officers, and Hawaii education policymakers.
Geographically isolated educational institutions across SIDS — from University of the South Pacific in Fiji to regional colleges across Caribbean island nations — may face similar conditions, in ISPI's analysis.
Further reading
- Campus Safety for Hawaii and Pacific Island Institutions: Research and FAQ
- Practitioner-Led Research vs Academic Research — Why It Matters for Island Public Safety Policy
- HI-10: AI Governance and Public Safety Technology Policy for Hawaii
- WP-11: AI Governance and Public Safety Technology Policy for Island and Small-State Communities
Cite as
Pulley, Warren (2026). Campus Safety Framework for Geographically Isolated Institutions: Active Threat Response, Clery Compliance, and Emergency Preparedness Where Law Enforcement Response May Be Delayed (ISPI WP-04). Island Security Policy Institute, Honolulu. https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/wp04-campus-safety-isolated https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23449755
BibTeX
@techreport{ispiwp042026,
author = {Pulley, Warren},
title = {Campus Safety Framework for Geographically Isolated Institutions: Active Threat Response, Clery Compliance, and Emergency Preparedness Where Law Enforcement Response May Be Delayed},
institution = {Island Security Policy Institute},
address = {Honolulu, HI},
number = {ISPI WP-04},
year = {2026},
url = {https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/wp04-campus-safety-isolated},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23449755}
}Related Research
WP-02 — Insider Threat Framework →WP-05 — Law Enforcement Workforce →PB-02 — Campus Safety Policy Brief →For a practitioner's guide on this topic, see Campus Under Siege by ISPI founder Warren Pulley, published separately from ISPI research.
Related analysis
AnalysisCampus Safety for Geographically Isolated Institutions — A Worldwide Problem →AnalysisRunning Campus Safety on an Island — What the Clery Act Doesn't Prepare You For →AnalysisWhat Diplomatic Security Operations Teach About Island Institutional Security →PaperWP-03 — Island Emergency Management: A Practitioner Framework →GuideHawaii Law Enforcement Workforce & Recruitment: Research and FAQ →Pulley, Warren. "Campus Safety for Geographically Isolated Institutions." Island Security Policy Institute, 2026. https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/wp04-campus-safety-isolated
