Managing the Worst Case Incident

Do we have a response plan for incidents like this and others in our neighborhood? While we are all tempted to let each other do our own thing as long as it does not effect our operation, in this case or cases like this it is going to hinder our responses. The need for both sides to reach out to each other and do some planning and vulnerability assessments to determine common issues is obvious. We both have resources that can help each other. This is time to determine what they are, not in the confusion and panic will be prevalent at the time of the incident. Developing some common training goals is necessary. Officers from the multiple agencies that will respond, such as police, fire and EMS, would all benefit by doing some common training in responding to emergencies. If nothing else, they will become familiar with each other and that they will get a feeling for the lay of the land. If an outside agency was to respond to my jurisdiction and be told to go to the cafe for an active shooter, they would have a choice of three cafes and two snack bars, all of them in different buildings and on different floors. If our communication system was down, good luck to those responding. It is also imperative that both sides work on their emergency operation manuals to insure they are up-to-date, and that the links in them are operative. If the manuals are outdated and contacts cannot be made, then the plan becomes an effective doorstop, but not much else. Last, and probably most difficult, is to exercise these plans. It is not easy to do, since it involves some planning in itself to get all the players on board. However, by exercising these plans we are doing a number of things that will improve our ability to respond to these incidents. First, we are getting everyone on the same page as to what is going to happen. Second, we are ensuring that the people who are actually doing the response know what is going on. Last, and probably one of the best things we are doing for ourselves, is finding out what is not going to work. This will allows us to adapt the plans to be more effective and save time and lives... http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=16&id=34295