ALICE training could prove life-saving

“You don’t know how you’ll react until you have a gun pointed at you.”

Those words may be scary, but they are reality, according to Safety & Security Director Jeff Rhoades. But the way individuals respond could change the outcome of an active shooter situation.

Jeff is planning to again offer three sessions of ALICE training for faculty, staff and students in the next two weeks. ALICE – which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate – is designed to create awareness and empower people who might find themselves in active shooter situations in the workplace or elsewhere.

Active shooter incidents over the years, like those at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University, prompted Jeff to become an instructor in the principles of ALICE. He researched active shooter trainings and discovered ALICE, which promotes proactive strategies to improve the chances of survival during an active shooter event.

Jeff completed ALICE training in June 2014. He was lucky enough to be trained by Greg Crane, a former law enforcement officer and the founder of ALICE. When he returned to campus, he began to develop Heidelberg’s first-ever active shooter policy. The policy was adopted in 2015 and can be found here.

“This was clearly the best training I’ve had,” Jeff says. “It was cool to me to actually experience the training by Greg Crane.”

In July 2016, Jeff was recertified as an ALICE instructor, and has shared the techniques with at least 10 groups on campus, including the food service staff, the Krammes staff, the Student Affairs staff and other individuals.

This month, he’ll again offer ALICE training to faculty, staff and students at the following times:

• Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 3-4 p.m. in Campus Center 120
• Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 10-11 a.m. in Herbster Chapel
• Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 2-3 p.m. in Herbster Chapel

“This topic means a lot to me,” Jeff says. “One of the points I drive home is that on any given day, in any given place, you could come face to face with an active shooter.”

Awareness is key, and Jeff will teach some simple tips that can be applied not only to the workplace but to everyday life – tips such as throwing something at a violent intruder, spraying a fire extinguisher or throwing a cup of coffee at the intruder’s face. These split-second decisions could be life-saving.

“One of the simplest things to realize is that you could possibly disrupt a situation if you take action,” he says.

The ALICE training sessions last about 45 minutes. Feel free to reach out to Jeff at jrhoade1@heidelberg.edu if you have questions.