The Way NOT to Conduct a Lockdown Drill

Recently a school district implemented a surprise lockdown drill at an early learning center that included pretend bad guys using weapons firing blank rounds. If this school had armed teachers, like the school in Texas discussed in a previous post, I suspect I’d be writing about a completely different tragedy. As it is, the tragedy was only in training and that is where mistakes are supposed to happen.

http://map.schoolsafetynews.com/eventdetail.php?ID=987

When you get right down to it, security measures can accomplish two things: reduce risks and/or reduce anxiety. Sometimes measures that reduce risk actually increase anxiety. This is regrettable but the benefit of improved safety outweighs the impact of increased anxiety. Security measures that increase anxiety (such as the previously mentioned lockdown drill) should only be implemented when no other alternatives exist or the anxiety can be mitigated.

Clearly the district’s intentions were well meaning; after all most district won’t even allow lockdown drills. However, it does appear they were overzealous in their approach. FEMA recommends a progressive training approach of seminar, drill, tabletop exercise, functional exercise and full scale exercise. A lockdown training program should have the same crawl, walk, and run approach.

Utilizing the progressive FEMA training approach ,schools or colleges can introduce staff (and students) to lockdown responses during seminars. Drills designed to test one or two specific objectives are next. Initially, these drills should be structured and implemented in a no fault learning environment. Once the drill is reasonably well mastered, more advanced scenarios can be incorporated and additional objectives can be tested.

When developing a lockdown training program, consult with mental health experts to determine the effects of simulated combat scenarios and ensure student training is age appropriate. Make certain instructors can adequately address all aspects of planning for a shooter.

Stay safe
Brad

This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.
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