The thought of having to deal with an armed intruder is not an easy one to consider. However, it’s slowly but surely become a reality for many students and school personnel in the U.S., especially in recent years. The number of school shootings rose significantly over the past decade, so much so that the number of US school shootings has reached a historic high.
Given the alarming rate at which these unfortunate events are taking place, many schools are taking steps to address them. One of the most popular methods that have been adopted throughout the U.S. is the ALICE training program. These drills involve a multi-option approach to responding to an active shooter incident, and are said to be much more effective than the more traditional methods such as lockdown. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about ALICE shooting drills – the new way to handle school shootings.
Contents
Gun violence and school shooting statistics
Gun violence and mass shootings – as traumatic as they are – have unfortunately become a fixture in the daily lives of American people. According to the Gun Violence Archive, in the past three years the U.S. has witnessed over 600 incidents of mass shootings per year, with almost two incidents taking place every single day. As for school shootings, there have been 327 incidents that involved shooting in 2021 and 2022 combined, as recorded by the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those 327 incidents, 139 shootings didn’t involve casualties, 188 had casualties, and 57 of them resulted in deaths.
There’s no doubt that school safety and security should be educational facilities’ number one priority, which is why a rising number of public schools have been adopting some significant safety measures over the past years. Most of those measures included installing security cameras (91%), securing premise access control (97%), and ensuring a weekly presence of security staff (65%). Many schools also introduced mental health assessments as a preventative measure for detecting mental disorders.
What are ALICE shooting drills?
Other than the standard safety measures mentioned above, many educational facilities are also taking other active steps to address the school shootings which are happening with more frequency than ever before. Some of the most popular and effective methods out there include ALICE drills which encourage both the students and the staff to actively respond to the ongoing violent school threat. These drills focus on responding to an emergency situation in a way that feels the most appropriate for that particular senior.
As opposed to the traditional lockdown method that involves finding a place to hide in the classroom and passively waiting for the authorities to arrive, these multi-option strategies offer a series of steps that can be taken depending on where the armed intruder is in the building. During as little as 10 minutes, the students learn the most effective ways to act should a school shooting scenario take place and potentially save a number of lives.
What do ALICE shooting drills involve?
The ALICE shooting drill involves a series of steps one could take to address the emergency situation at hand. Its blended approach helps increase the survivability rate of unfortunate events such as school shootings by giving people options. Starting from the first letter of the acronym, the letter A stands for Alert, which refers to alerting others about the potential threat. The next letter, L, stands for lockdown, which is about finding shelter once the threat is confirmed.
The following letters – I (inform), C (counter), and E (evacuate) refer to taking active steps to inform others and local authorities by using SMS and making 911 calls, countering the intruder by distracting them or physically confronting them, and exiting the premises using pre-evolution routes when that’s a safe option.
Why are ALICE shooting drills more effective compared to other drills?
When talking about responding to an active shooter event, it’s important to note that there is no one “right” way to address it. That being said, while there are multitude of different multi-option response training programs that are available, the ALICE active shooter drill stands out because of its effectiveness. Instead of fear, one is empowered to respond to the critical situation. Rather than making students and staff feel anxious, these drills instill a sense of control over the seemingly desperate situation.
Moreover, these drills focus on providing unwilling participants with possibilities and encouraging them to take action rather than remaining passive during critical situations such as an active shooter event. Another advantage these drills have over other multi-option active shooter drills is that they deliver the material in a variety of ways, in-person and online. The ALICE training program has evolved since its creation in 2000 and continues to do so by constantly adjusting to the ongoing safety needs of the modern educational facilities.
Preparedness as a key element of a safe learning environment
Safe and secure learning facilities are vital to promoting a nurturing and safe environment for education. With many facilities taking steps towards ensuring optimal levels of safety for their students and staff, it’s time to dopt new and more effective methods of coping and responding to unspeakable events such as school shootings. The sooner the schools adopt the ALICE training programs, the better equipped they’ll be to address the critical situation at hand, should one arise.
