Police use campus, students, for training
Police Foundations students got a taste of the real thing last week, when a select few were involved in a recent mock training with the London Police Service.
In hopes of simulating a situation similar to the Dawson College shooting incident, the London Police Service conducted an Extraordinary Rapid Deployment exercise at Fanshawe College to replicate a similar campus emergency. The police received aid from both the Police Foundations students at the College and Fanshawe Security Services.
The mock training session was closed to the public and took place in G Building on Tuesday, April 10.
Sherry Jacklin, professor in the Police Foundations program, said the 11 students who participated played the role of victims in the mock scenario and came away with some valuable experience in the process.
“The students got to see first hand how police officers handle their jobs,” Jacklin said. “They had the chance to visualize what they could potentially be involved with in their future careers. It was a fantastic experience for them and they learned a lot.”
Specific details of the activities that took place during the session were not available, as the information was kept strictly confidential, Jacklin said.
Those involved in the training had to have a clean record, which included a background check and a willingness to sign a waiver of confidentiality with the London Police Services, stating that they would not share information from the exercise or talk about the proceedings, Jacklin added.
According to the College, the London Police Services have been conducting these types of exercises since 2002. The procedures were adopted in order to allow for a realistic training environment in which the trainees can actually practice moving in a school or workplace.
“It gives the police a chance to train in a real life scenario,” Jacklin said. “All police services do these type of drills. It all started with the incident that occurred at Columbine in 1999.”
In hopes of simulating a situation similar to the Dawson College shooting incident, the London Police Service conducted an Extraordinary Rapid Deployment exercise at Fanshawe College to replicate a similar campus emergency. The police received aid from both the Police Foundations students at the College and Fanshawe Security Services.
The mock training session was closed to the public and took place in G Building on Tuesday, April 10.
Sherry Jacklin, professor in the Police Foundations program, said the 11 students who participated played the role of victims in the mock scenario and came away with some valuable experience in the process.
“The students got to see first hand how police officers handle their jobs,” Jacklin said. “They had the chance to visualize what they could potentially be involved with in their future careers. It was a fantastic experience for them and they learned a lot.”
Specific details of the activities that took place during the session were not available, as the information was kept strictly confidential, Jacklin said.
Those involved in the training had to have a clean record, which included a background check and a willingness to sign a waiver of confidentiality with the London Police Services, stating that they would not share information from the exercise or talk about the proceedings, Jacklin added.
According to the College, the London Police Services have been conducting these types of exercises since 2002. The procedures were adopted in order to allow for a realistic training environment in which the trainees can actually practice moving in a school or workplace.
“It gives the police a chance to train in a real life scenario,” Jacklin said. “All police services do these type of drills. It all started with the incident that occurred at Columbine in 1999.”
