April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 56

UNDER FIRE

staff and key part-time staff, such as
camp directors. The rest of the parttime staffers take a one-hour online
training course based on a similar
course developed by DHS.
It's difficult to train for every
possible situation, but fortunately,
says Capps, if you train for an active-shooter situation, you're better
equipped for most of the other incidents that might occur.

A Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department crowd manager guides human and
vehicle traffic.

for your purposes, especially in instances in which a staff member is
responsible for people in his or her
care. " Our first step is to lock down, "
Capps says. " Stay out of sight, close
the blinds, take cover behind heavy
furniture, and secure yourselves in a
space if that is an option. Then call
911, and remain in lockdown procedures until law enforcement says
to get out. Evacuating and fighting
back are secondary options. We also
have outdoor procedures, conceal
and cover, if there is not a facility
where you can hide. "
RPRD has about 430 full-time
staff and anywhere from 2,500 to
2,900 part-time staff, depending on
the season, and the department is
currently in the process of training
all of them. The training sergeant
for Raleigh's SWAT team conducts
a three-hour training session that
will ultimately equip all full-time

Parks & Recreation

Constant Preparedness
With your plans in place and your
staff trained, you may think your
job is done, but because a threat can
happen without notice, it's critical
to maintain your readiness, both
in terms of training and resources.
Encourage your staff to familiarize
themselves with their facilities and
think through the best ways to respond to emergencies in their specific locations. Hold regular refresher
trainings to keep skills sharp. Most
importantly, do everything you can
to prevent incidents from occurring
in the first place. Advise your staff to
know what's going on in their facilities and get to know their regulars.

Active Shooter
Preparedness Webinar
Kathy Capps will present an NRPA webinar on preparing for active-shooter situations on Thursday, May 23, from 2:00
p.m. to 3:15 p.m. EDT, with a follow-up
chat scheduled for Wednesday, May 29,
from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Learn
about existing best practices, hear more
about the plan Raleigh has in place, and
gain information about what resources
are available and who the major stakeholders are for developing a crisis plan
for park and recreation agencies.
The cost to attend is $25 for NRPA
members and $45 for non-members. To
register, go to www.nrpa.org/webinars.

| A P R I L 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

For example, if a kid in one of their
programs is in the middle of a custody battle at home, a staffer should
familiarize him- or herself with the
situation and anticipate and prepare
for the possibility of an incident
happening at their location.
Also, after incidents both within
and outside your agency, it's a good
idea to hold debriefing meetings to
discuss the positives and negatives of
how people responded. If necessary,
update your EAP.
Capps recalls a recent incident in
Raleigh in which the police instituted
a lockdown covering five RPRD facilities while they searched for an active
shooter who had killed his wife at a
nearby shopping center. " The lockdown started at about 10 a.m. and
went through until 3 p.m., and at one
facility, there was somebody who was
diabetic and needed to have food-
her blood sugar was dropping, " Capps
says. " Also, some of our part-time
staff didn't understand total lockdown
procedures. It ended up being a nonevent, but it was a great learning experience to see what the challenges were
to not only implementing a plan but
also people's impressions of what's
involved. It gave us a lot of information to help better prepare staff-what
do we need to have on hand so being
stuck in a building doesn't end up
turning into emergency? "
Overall, you may not be able to
prepare for every possible incident
that could crop up, but you're not
helpless, either. Establish your plans,
train your staff, and do your best to
prevent dangerous situations.
Says Capps, " It's not appropriate to
stick your head in the sand and say,
'It will never happen here...' It may
be a low threat, but you still need to
have a plan in place. "
Danielle Taylor is Associate Editor of Parks &
Recreation (dtaylor@nrpa.org).

April 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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