Once in a while, Gazette magazine's editorial team works on an issue that, despite being planned many months ahead, becomes highly topical.
As we were finalizing this issue on how police prepare for and respond to serious unexpected incidents, the active shooter incident in downtown Ottawa, Ont., began to unfold, and our cover theme became eerily timely. It became clear that front-line members who are well trained to go into these situations were being put to the test once again.
For this issue, we explore the many factors at play when police officers respond to critical events such as the incident on Parliament Hill last October.
For our cover article, Deidre Seiden looks back at another violent event — the June 4 Moncton shootings in which three of our members were killed, and two were injured. The simple, but effective approach taken by the RCMP communications team in New Brunswick was to make sure that, in the minutes and hours after the deadly shootings when the suspect was still at large, the public received timely and accurate information to stay safe. And for those still doubting its relevance to police work, social media was key.
Seiden also writes about a training camp in Ottawa that tests and prepares police officers who want to join the RCMP's Emergency Response Teams (ERT). The camp throws physical and mental challenges at each participant to assess how they respond under stress, work with others and draw upon the right skills and mindset to make an operation succeed.
Going into these uncertain situations is potentially dangerous. We also look at two approaches to providing emergency medical support to specialty teams such as ERT. The OPP's Tactical Emergency Medical Service uses highly skilled paramedics to provide advanced medical care to its tactical troops, while the RCMP's Emergency Medical Response Teams use police medics in active operations where local EMS can't enter. While different, both approaches ensure critical care when and where needed.
Sometimes, looking back at a crisis can shed light on how to plan for the next one. Herman B. Leonard of the Harvard Kennedy School shares law enforcement lessons from the 2013 Boston marathon bombings. One of the many take-aways from his insightful piece is that large-scale joint operations for planned events can prove tremendously beneficial for responding to more random incidents.
We also look at what police and other first responders are doing to plan for natural disasters.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management has developed an online crisis map that provides live updates and real-time feeds to the public during an emergency.
In Norway, researchers are developing technical solutions to ensure multi-agency interoperability during a large-scale emergency such as a disaster.
Finally, critical incidents such as these are not just physically demanding, but emotionally taxing.
The Hillsboro Police Department is helping its members develop resiliency to trauma through mindfulness-based stress reduction. This awareness training, also used by the U.S. Marines, is a preventive rather than reactive intervention, and science shows it works.
And J. Kevin Cameron of the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response reminds police officers about the healthy ways of dealing with trauma both for themselves and the communities they serve.
There's no one approach to preparing for the next crisis or disaster, but sharing all the tools and practices available today is a step in the right direction.