The Virden RCMP detachment is currently working with area schools to review their lockdown procedures and make sure they’re ready should a dangerous situation occur.
Staff Sgt. Joe Frizzley says he has already completed reviews with Pierson and Melita Schools and plans to work with all the schools within his detachment’s coverage area, including those in Fort la Bosse School Division, to ensure their lockdown procedures are ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“Situations can happen anywhere”
“Unfortunately, in society now and in the recent past,” he said, “these types of situations can happen anywhere, large or small towns.”
Frizzley, who transferred to Virden in late 2017 to take over the top job at the detachment, says Virden schools are well versed in how to conduct lockdown drills but he likes to observe them in action so he can debrief staff on what works and what needs improvement.
Drills mandatory
Lockdowns are implemented by a school or other public building when a possible threat to safety is imminent. They usually involve staff and students taking shelter in designated rooms with doors locked and in complete silence.
Each school division creates its own guidelines for lockdowns and how often they should be practiced.
Superintendent Barry Pitz of the Fort la Bosse School Division says he can’t reveal specifics of their procedure for security reasons, but he knows they work.
“If you were to walk by one of our schools when they’re in outdoor lockdown, the schoolyard will look like a Sunday afternoon… like the students have vanished into thin air.”
Fort la Bosse schools are required to conduct two drills a year – one indoors and one outdoors. “We practice and we’re prepared just like we are with fire or tornado drills.”
Pitz says they’ve been lucky to never have needed a real lockdown due to a serious threat in the decade he’s been with the division.
The last time the RCMP reviewed lockdown protocol in the division was at least ten years ago, says Pitz, so he applauds Frizzley and his officers for getting actively involved in promoting school safety.
First responders
The RCMP are also active in training their officers in Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD), which teaches first responders how to deal with an active threat in a public place.
“I have always felt that first responders should be strong and current in their safety skills and this is something I have done in any community where I have been posted to ensure that,” Frizzley said.
