A MESSAGE FROM THE GRPD
February 17,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Glen Rock NJ, the Glen Rock Police commented o their Facebook page , “The members of the Glen Rock Police Department extend their deepest sympathies to the community of Parkland Florida. Unfortunately, as we have seen time and time again, schools, religious facilities, shopping malls, night clubs and public buildings continue to be targets of active shooters. No matter where we live, no one has the luxury of saying “this is a quiet town and nothing like happens here”. But this does not mean that we must live in constant fear. We can and will protect ourselves!
In recent years the GRPD has increased training and purchased additional equipment to aid officers in responding to any issue which may arise at our schools and elsewhere in the community. Lessons learned nationwide have shown that local law enforcement needs to be able to respond quickly and cannot wait for assistance to arrive from outside of the community before taking action.
‘Emergency action planning’ and ‘situational awareness’ practices are ever evolving. The GRPD’s training methods, equipment and even uniforms have been modified greatly in recent years as law enforcement adapts to prepare for a potential active shooter response. Like every other law enforcement agency, the GRPD is fully prepared to respond. Likewise, our schools have greatly changed their procedures as well as training for their personnel and drills with students. Our current student body has come up thought their school years with lock-down, hold in place and evacuation drills as common place as fire drills.
What can a private citizen do?
• Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers.
• Take note of the two nearest exits in any facility you visit.
• If something seems out of the ordinary, report it!
If there is an active shooter:
• If you are in an office or class room, stay there and secure the door.
• If you are in a hallway, get into a room and secure the door.
• Immediately take cover (hide behind something hard that will stop or slow bullets), or circumstances permitting, enter an unaffected building.
• In the event neither cover nor entering a building is possible, run in a zig-zag fashion away from the sound of gunfire.
• As a last resort, if you have no avenue of escape, attempt to take the active shooter down. When the shooter is at close range and you cannot flee, your chance of survival is much greater if you try to incapacitate him/her.
CALL 911 WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO!”
