• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • “I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like I did my job”
        Louisiana wildlife officer rescues girl trapped underneath boat
        Detroit law enforcement agencies continue fight against freeway...
        Law enforcement agencies prepare for civil unrest following leaked...
        Arizona troopers find nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl pills and cocaine...
    • Labor
      • Illinois State Police announce lateral training program with added...
        The “great resignation” brings staffing troubles to Missouri law...
        NYPD overtime expected to surpass budget by over $142 million to...
        Portland police shut down cold case unit to reinforce homicide...
        Living in the ashes
    • Tech
      • Illinois police unveil new technology, more body cameras to promote...
        High-tech policing
        Open-source investigations
        Virginia lawmakers lift ban on the use of facial recognition...
        Iowa State University simulation training module offers de-escalation...
    • Training
      • “The hidden danger is the water”
        Weapon retention
        Developing trauma-informed training and drills for K–12 schools
        Crime prevention training
        So you want to be a civilian firearms trainer?
    • Policy
      • Ohio resolution asks lawmakers to ride along with police to gain...
        New Jersey governor proposes police licensing plan to boost...
        New York court suspends familial DNA searching by law enforcement
        New Jersey Supreme Court weighs in on police marijuana impairment...
        Court says man arrested for making fake P.D. Facebook page did not...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Police departments look to expand chaplain programs to provide...
        What anxiety is — and what not to do about it
        Supporting a partner in crisis
        Spiritual resilience
        Overcoming relationship communication challenges
    • Community
      • Pennsylvania police introduce civilian response team to answer...
        LGBTQ police officers allowed to participate in Denver PrideFest...
        California police department helps pay for families’ groceries as a...
        “I thought he was going to die”: 6-year-old calls police to save...
        Treated like royalty
    • Offbeat
      • Oops, wrong number! South Carolina drug dealer arrested after...
        Port Authority officers capture missing puppy that journeyed from...
        Nevada woman tries to fool police with fake license plate using...
        Maine police arrest man hiding under a blanket in ghost disguise
        Texas burglar mows the lawn before fleeing police
    • We Remember
      • A living legacy
        Not in vain
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        Florida law enforcement, legislators weigh whether to classify...
        National Law Enforcement Museum offers free Saturday admission for...
  • On the Job
    • “I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like I did my job”
      Louisiana wildlife officer rescues girl trapped underneath boat
      Detroit law enforcement agencies continue fight against freeway...
      Law enforcement agencies prepare for civil unrest following leaked...
      Arizona troopers find nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl pills and cocaine...
  • Labor
    • Illinois State Police announce lateral training program with added...
      The “great resignation” brings staffing troubles to Missouri law...
      NYPD overtime expected to surpass budget by over $142 million to...
      Portland police shut down cold case unit to reinforce homicide...
      Living in the ashes
  • Tech
    • Illinois police unveil new technology, more body cameras to promote...
      High-tech policing
      Open-source investigations
      Virginia lawmakers lift ban on the use of facial recognition...
      Iowa State University simulation training module offers de-escalation...
  • Training
    • “The hidden danger is the water”
      Weapon retention
      Developing trauma-informed training and drills for K–12 schools
      Crime prevention training
      So you want to be a civilian firearms trainer?
  • Policy
    • Ohio resolution asks lawmakers to ride along with police to gain...
      New Jersey governor proposes police licensing plan to boost...
      New York court suspends familial DNA searching by law enforcement
      New Jersey Supreme Court weighs in on police marijuana impairment...
      Court says man arrested for making fake P.D. Facebook page did not...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Police departments look to expand chaplain programs to provide...
      What anxiety is — and what not to do about it
      Supporting a partner in crisis
      Spiritual resilience
      Overcoming relationship communication challenges
  • Community
    • Pennsylvania police introduce civilian response team to answer...
      LGBTQ police officers allowed to participate in Denver PrideFest...
      California police department helps pay for families’ groceries as a...
      “I thought he was going to die”: 6-year-old calls police to save...
      Treated like royalty
  • Offbeat
    • Oops, wrong number! South Carolina drug dealer arrested after...
      Port Authority officers capture missing puppy that journeyed from...
      Nevada woman tries to fool police with fake license plate using...
      Maine police arrest man hiding under a blanket in ghost disguise
      Texas burglar mows the lawn before fleeing police
  • We Remember
    • A living legacy
      Not in vain
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      Florida law enforcement, legislators weigh whether to classify...
      National Law Enforcement Museum offers free Saturday admission for...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Training

Developing trauma-informed training and drills for K–12 schools

Eliminating fear and empowering students

Morgan Ballis Published May 6, 2022 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/Bluberries

Law enforcement officers play a key role in supporting kindergarten to 12th grade (K–12) schools in preparing for a critical violent incident on campus. The role of officers may vary by jurisdiction, with some states mandating that public schools collaborate with their local law enforcement agencies in this area. Officers may find themselves reviewing and advising on school safety plans, conducting vulnerability assessments, training staff in active shooter response or observing lockdown/active shooter drills. 

For most educators, law enforcement are considered the default experts in preparing staff and students for an active threat. While most officers are well-versed in how police and EMS will respond to an active shooter event, they are not familiar with the appropriate techniques for training staff and students. What is the root of the problem? Officers are trying to train teachers and students in the same manner they would train fellow officers. Don’t believe me? Here are just a few examples of incidents that made national headlines: Indiana deputies shot elementary school teachers point-blank with airsoft guns. Florida deputies fired blanks during a lockdown drill to simulate gunfire. An Oregon elementary teacher had a gun pointed in her face by a masked man during training. An Ohio teacher was tackled and injured by a law enforcement officer during an exercise. A California school custodian wore a mask and carried a fake gun during a lockdown drill.

What is the root of the problem? Officers are trying to train teachers and students in the same manner they would train fellow officers.

These and other incidents have cost police departments and school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits. Worse yet, the trust and confidence of the community in the local police agency to effectively support schools is lost. This has manifested in some organizations calling for an end to active shooter drills and some states exploring legislation that prohibits certain training practices, such as the use of simunitions, in schools. 

How can officers appropriately support K–12 schools in preparing for the unthinkable? With the use of trauma-informed training practices. Trauma-informed means officers do everything in their power to avoid inserting trauma into training or drills. It also means officers have the emotional intelligence to recognize that they may inadvertently trigger a negative emotional or psychological response in staff or students because of previous exposure to trauma. As officers, we cannot account for how every stakeholder will respond during training; however, we do have a legal and ethical responsibility to mitigate risks. Here are three changes officers can make right now to utilize trauma-informed practices when supporting K–12 schools in training staff and conducting active shooter drills.

Stop running unannounced drills

The idea behind unannounced drills is that administrators and law enforcement can observe how staff and students will most likely respond during an emergency. Observers get to witness, and stakeholders experience, an “authentic” reaction. With authenticity comes fear, anxiety and, you guessed it, trauma. Staff and students should always be given advance notice of when a drill will be conducted. The primary purpose is to reduce anxiety that this is a real event and not just a drill. This also gives teachers an opportunity to have age-appropriate discussions with their students and adjust their instructional time around the drill. As the school year progresses, trainers can provide stakeholders with a general time frame of when the drill will occur. For example, if a school conducts nine drills in a year, staff and students should be given the exact time and day for the first three drills, the exact day with a time window for the second three drills and the exact day with no time frame for the last three drills. This model mitigates trauma commonly associated with unannounced drills while also allowing trainers to progressively build toward observing a realistic response.

Announcement should differ between drills and emergencies

Many times, staff and students are unsure whether or not a drill is actually a drill. This is because of a lack of clear announcement protocols. There are countless stories of children texting their parents during lockdown drills, believing it was an actual emergency. This creates panic among parents, resulting in many of them flooding the front officer with calls or driving to the school to make sure their kids are safe. Emergency announcements should be clear and concise, and should differentiate between a drill and an emergency. Training should empower all staff with the authority to make emergency announcements and the knowledge of how to use available communication assets. Below is an example of communication protocols for lockdown I recommend for schools:

  • Drill: “Drill, drill, drill. This is a lockdown drill. Drill, drill, drill.”
  • Emergency: “Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. This is real. Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown.”

Every emergency would follow the same format, replacing “lockdown” with the given response (e.g., secure campus, lockout, shelter in place). Before the drill, staff should discuss with students what the drill announcement will be and what they would hear during an actual emergency. Not only do these protocols reduce trauma, but they also increase response times during an actual crisis, as stakeholders are not left questioning whether or not this is “just another drill.” 

iStock.com/Susan Vineyard

Stop using simulated gunfire

Simunitions, simulated gunfire and other reality-based training techniques are utilized during training and drills in order to induce stress, with the hopes of achieving some level of stress inoculation among participants. Let me phrase that another way: We are knowingly and intentionally exposing staff and students to trauma! I want to be clear — the use of reality-based training techniques comes from a sincere place of officers wanting to prepare schools for the actuality of a targeted attack. Studies suggest that tying curriculum to an emotional anchor can increase memory recall, especially during a crisis. Reality-based training is a powerful tool to jump-start myelination and increase response times during an emergency. But at what cost?

Simply put, these training techniques have no place in school active shooter drills or training staff. The only exception would be a staff-only opt-in training where participants are fully aware of what the training entails and can stop at any time. Some of the greatest setbacks in school safety reform have been caused by officers trying to do the right thing but inadvertently doing more harm than good. While reality-based training and simulations should be a staple in training law enforcement, those same techniques are not appropriate for staff and students. Officers should conduct a thorough risk assessment before introducing any form of reality-based training to K–12 schools.

Law enforcement officers are valuable assets for K–12 schools. Officers provide guidance and expertise in preparing staff and students to respond to an active threat on campus. Law enforcement partners often become focused on the physical protection of stakeholders during a critical event and fail to realize their role in emotionally and psychologically protecting stakeholders during training. When supporting K–12 schools in preparing for an active shooter event, officers should understand the principles of trauma-informed practices. Law enforcement should be aware of how certain training techniques increase fear or anxiety among staff and students or may be a trigger for previous trauma. Officers should collaborate with school administrators, educators, counselors, psychologists and social workers to design trauma-informed training and drills.

Morgan Ballis

Morgan Ballis

Morgan Ballis is the director of Strategic Planning & Training for Campus Safety Alliance, a K-12 emergency management consulting firm. As a law enforcement trainer and nationally recognized expert in K-12 campus violence preparedness, he has had the opportunity to train more than 20,000 law enforcement officers, educators and students in active assailant response. Contact him at Morgan@Campus-Safety.us or follow him on Twitter: @CampusSafetyDad.

View articles by Morgan Ballis

As seen in the May 2022 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Training

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Ohio resolution asks lawmakers to ride along with police to gain deeper understanding of law enforcement
  • Illinois State Police announce lateral training program with added incentives to attract candidates
  • “I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like I did my job”
  • New Jersey governor proposes police licensing plan to boost accountability
  • Louisiana wildlife officer rescues girl trapped underneath boat
  • Statement of Sonoma County Sheriff Candidate Dave Edmonds in reply to article in Santa Rosa Press Democrat
  • Oops, wrong number! South Carolina drug dealer arrested after mistakenly texting deputy
  • Police departments look to expand chaplain programs to provide spiritual counseling to traumatized officers
  • Port Authority officers capture missing puppy that journeyed from Brooklyn to New Jersey
  • Nevada woman tries to fool police with fake license plate using Cracker Jack stickers

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2022 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close
Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.