Page 12 - Campus Security & Life Safety, September 2017

EMERGENCY RESPONSE
PRACTICAL ADVICE
Organizations need to take a variety of steps to prepare for worst-case scenarios By Jana Rankin
JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO MARKED THE 10-YEAR ANNI- VERSARY OF THE SHOOTING MASSACRE AT VIRGINIA TECH. ON APRIL 16, 2007, 23-YEAR-OLD STUDENT SEUNG HUI CHO SHOT AND KILLED 32 PEOPLE AND WOUNDED 17 OTHERS BEFORE KILLING HIMSELF. THE INCIDENT, WHICH RANKS AS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST MASS SHOOTINGS IN U.S. HISTORY, WILL ALWAYS SERVE AS A REMINDER TO SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING WELL-CRAFTED, DETAILED AND PRACTICED INCIDENT MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS IN PLACE ON CAMPUSES.
A report of the incident commissioned by former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine found significant breakdowns in communication between the university and the campus community. For example, the report noted that university administrators failed to send out a campus-wide notifi- cation about a pair of homicides committed by Cho at the West Ambler Johnston residence hall, which preceded the mass shootings at Norris Hall, until nearly two hours after the fact. It also stated that “university practice may have conflicted with written policies,” which is a classic problem with many incident response plans in place today.
Oftentimes, an organization or school will create a plan and just file it away on a shelf to collect dust. If a plan isn’t regularly reviewed and practiced, then when it comes time to deal with an actual emergency— severe weather, a health scare or an active shooter—the chances for loss of life and injuries are higher.
But, what are the hallmarks of a good incident management and emergency plan? Discussed below are several key considerations that every organization, both public and private, should take into account when developing these plans, and how to ensure the guidance they provide remains timely and relevant.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
As evidenced by Virginia Tech and numerous other tragedies, com- munication should be the first and foremost consideration in the cre- ation of any emergency response plan. Internal communication between an organization and their employees or a school and their teachers and students should take precedent, followed by external communication with law enforcement and other first responders.
It sounds simple enough, but there are numerous questions that must be asked and answered to ensure that accurate and timely infor- mation is communicated during an emergency situation. Some of these include:
• What channels will be used for emergency communications? This used to be a more straightforward proposition than it is today. Mass notification solutions give organizations the ability to send out both standardized and custom messages through a variety of methods— text, email, etc.—with the push of a button. The way people con- sume information is always changing, and the advent of social media has thrown an additional layer of complexity into the mix. While a text may work best for one person, sending a Tweet may be just as effective to another. Change to an email or digital signage can reach more individuals. Try to adopt a strategy that is as compre-
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