08/02/13 Plymouth High School Principal Jim Condon and Plymouth Schools Corporation Superintendent Dan Tyree are prepared to greet members of the law enforcement community this Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3. The Plymouth School Corporation is providing a training environment that will allow the officers to become more familiar with the high school. Jim Phillips, PCSC Safety and Security Director, will also be participating and observing the training to become more familiar with the local law enforcement agencies capabilities to respond to incidents involving the school system.
Providing local agencies with the skills to respond to a hostile school incident–especially to what they refer to as an “active shooter” call — is the primary focus of this week’s training. The two-day course is led by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department.
A total of 75 officers will be taking part, running through the training on two separate days.
“These types of training programs were developed after Columbine,” Phillips said, “and have gained acceptance as more violent incidents have occurred. The point is to train everyone in the same system so that responders know exactly what to expect from their counterparts.”
Training and communication methods vary between law enforcement agencies and emergency response departments that can cause problems in coordination an effective response.
It’s also important for officers to practice handling themselves in a high stress situation. This weekend’s training will include four hours of classroom instruction as well as 6 hours of intensive practical training in responding to prepared emergency scenarios.
The training will be at the Plymouth High School on Friday, August 2 and August 3 from 8am to 4pm. Staff, Parents, and students are asked to limit their time on the PHS campus on these days as this training is conducted.
