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New Emergency Plans To Be Implemented
(Clinton) -- Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evade will be the new system to use if an intruder or person with a gun is in a Clinton school building.
The Clinton School’s will be taking a new approach to dealing with an intruder or person with a gun.
The staff will be trained in the program called “ALICE” or Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evade.
Clinton High School Police Resource Officer Corporal Pat Cullen says the changes is from the traditional ‘lockdown’ and wait in the classroom to use plain language through the intercom to alert the building where an intruder is so they can flee from other parts of the building.
He says administrators always want to keep track of the students. But, he says, ‘we’re getting away from that, we’ll find them later, let’s get them out of the danger zone, get them as far away as possible and we’ll round them up later.”
Cullen said the ‘hunker down and wait approach’ is too dangerous and staff and students may be in the room for hours while a search of the building is conducted.
In updating the school board about the plan-Cullen said they also want students and staff to use 9-1-1 to inform the emergency personnel what is going on and that’s another change.
The police officer said part of the training is to help people remain calm to help communicate. He says they need one or two people to be on the intercom to tell people in the rest of the building. Cullen says the “bad people” don’t like to hear that.
Cullen said the staff will also be taught skill to use as a last resort to use items in the classroom to district the intruder by throwing books, backpacks or anything else in the room and then how to evacuate when they have a chance. How to use what is in the classroom for first aid will be another portion of the training.
Cullen said this training is not just for schools, but could be used anywhere.
Superintendent Deb Olson says most of the effort will be focused on the Middle and High School, but elementary staff will also be trained. The staff training will be held September 24th.
You can hear more from Corporal Cullen's presentation in the School Notebook program on Saturday & Sunday at 7:50AM
Written 9/11/2012 by Dave Vickers - KROS News
