Training for a Crisis
It’s been hard to watch the local officials in Providence, Rhode Island the last several days since a gunman killed two and injured nine others.
Even from the first news conference Saturday evening, talking heads on the cable news channels have been scratching their heads about things that were said, things that were left out, things done and not done.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to be among those responsible for protecting a campus and a community and have something like this happen. Nothing prepares you for the glare of national scrutiny.
And as I record this, they seem to be no closer to finding a killer at large. That’s the major point, keeping the community safe and securing justice for the victims.
My guess is that every city or county, every college and university, is taking some time this week to go over their emergency procedures. They had better, because the next emergency situation is just around the corner.
Touching base on protocol, who speaks for who…knowing where cameras are and are not placed, or working…connecting disperate agencies, like local and campus police, to review what their officers do and do not have regarding cameras in vehicles or on their persons…in short, everything that leads us to shake our heads about the Brown situation.
And, I imagine, there are lots of folks in these roles across the country justifying this checklist review by saying, “We don’t want to be the next Brown,” or “We don’t need another Providence here.”
As noted, if they aren’t doing that—they need to. They probably are surprised to find how long it had been since they had reviewed their plans. And no time like now.
