STAPLES-The National Joint Powers Alliance will host two-day violent intruder trainings program in two area cities.
Region Five educators and law enforcement officers, as well as worship, hospital and workplace administrators and safety professionals, are invited to attend upcoming violent intruder response trainings conducted by the ALICE Training Institute. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
The two-day instructor certification trainings will be hosted by Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School on July 25-26, and Verndale Public School on Aug. 1-2. Participants will be in session 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.
The research-based organization ALICE Training Institute is changing the way society talks about, thinks about, prepares and responds to intruder situations, a news release stated. Its goal is to provide individuals with survival-enhancing options for those critical moments in the gap between when a violent situation begins and when law enforcement arrives on scene. ALICE is in line with recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
ALICE Training Institute conducted a four-hour session for NJPA staff in January 2017. The interactive session covered the history and dangers of the traditional "lockdown only" approach. It also introduced ALICE response skills and tactics such as barricading a room, strategies for evacuating through windows and from higher floors, creating noise or movement as a distraction, putting distance between oneself and an intruder and how and when to communicate with police.
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Following the training, NJPA began revising its intruder response plans, and with the help of the Staples Police Department, conducted a violent intruder drill in March.
"I cannot say enough good things about this training," said Paul Drange, NJPA director of regional programs, in the release. "ALICE's approach is different. They use research and case studies to back up what they're teaching, and draw participants into the conversation and action happening at the front of the room.
"Nobody likes to focus on this topic, but the reality is our schools, hospitals and businesses must be prepared with up-to-date policies and procedures-and we as individuals must consider our actions in dangerous situations-so we can respond in the most effective manner possible."
The trainings at W-H-A and Verndale will dive deep into policy and procedures review, infrastructure design, proactive use of technology, community resource assistance, mass evacuation tactics and planning, trauma first aid, practical scenario training and lesson preparation.
For more information and to register, visit www.njpacoop.org/R5PD or call 330-661-0106. Cost is $595 per person. Region Five members will receive a $300 discount with code: NJPA.
