Philadelphia ( CNN ) -- Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that it has become clear new strategies are needed to deal with how police respond to `` active shooter '' situations -- those in which someone with a gun is still on the scene and firing at victims . Shootings like last month 's at the Washington Navy Yard have tripled in recent years , Holder told the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference , and there have been 12 already this year . And he said such shootings have become more deadly -- a 150 % increase in the number of people killed over the past four years . `` Although research methods and results vary , it 's become clear that new strategies -- and aggressive national response protocols -- must be employed to stop shooters in their tracks , '' Holder told the police chiefs . In the Navy Yard shooting , the police response time was considered extremely fast . D.C. Metro Police Chief Kathy Lanier said her officers were on the scene in seven minutes , which is about half the national average response time . But still , 12 people were killed . Experts say that despite a quick response time , the first officers on the scene often must wait until more highly trained special weapons and tactics teams arrive , and in the interim lives could be lost . Holder said that years of analysis reinforces the need for `` an immediate , aggressive response to active shooters . In order to prevent additional casualties , it is often patrol officers -- not necessarily SWAT teams -- who serve as the tip of the spear in responding to these incidents . '' Security consultant Chris Grollnek describes current tactics as , `` Respond once your backup arrives , and use a contact-cover approach so you are not on a suicide mission . '' Holder said that police do n't always have the luxury to take the time to get their best-trained , best-equipped officers to the scene . `` To save lives , the first officers to arrive must sometimes be the ones to directly engage an active shooter , '' Holder said . `` That 's why all law enforcement officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to confront these situations . We owe these officers nothing less . '' Grollnek focuses on training regular people how to protect themselves before police arrive at the scene . He says people who work in places where a shooting could happen could use some training , too . `` Get up and move -- do not become a victim , do n't be a stationary target , '' he said . `` React by escaping the target . '' Holder said the Justice Department has partnered with groups like the IACP to train more than 50,000 front-line officers , more than 7,000 on-scene commanders and more than 3,000 local , state and federal agency heads on how to respond to active shooter situations . And it has joined with other federal agencies , local partners and outside experts to develop guidance for schools , churches , colleges , universities and private citizens on how to prepare for such incidents . Holder also said that the Justice Department has placed an increased emphasis on evaluating threats with the goal of disrupting potential shootings and other violent attacks . The FBI 's Behavioral Threat Assessment Center has successfully disrupted hundreds of potential shootings -- including 150 this year -- Holder said . While Holder pointed to partnerships with the IACG in active shooter response and prevention , there is disagreement on other issues : IACG President Craig Steckler , retired chief of police in Fremont , California , said in his introduction of Holder that the group 's membership `` profoundly disagrees '' with the Justice Department 's decision not to challenge laws legalizing marijuana in Colorado and Washington state and not taking a stand against legalizing marijuana in California , as that state 's Proposition 19 would do . `` This decision by the U.S. Department of Justice , in our view , will open the floodgates for those who want to legalize marijuana throughout the country , those who have the resources to place initiatives and referendums on state ballots and those who 've continued to profit from the sale of this unlawful drug , '' Steckler said to applause . Holder said the Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies need `` marriage counseling '' in dealing with some issues .
Holder says procedures for approaching ` ` active ' '' suspects should change . Police agencies do n't have the luxury of waiting for SWAT teams to arrive . D.C. police response time in the Navy Yard shooting was great , but still 12 people were killed . Police officials disagree with the Justice Department 's position on states that legalize marijuana .