Developing a Crisis Management Plan in the Wake of the Virginia Tech Tragedy 
Dr. Steven Tyrell, Vice President for Student Affairs
Greg Sammons, Chief of University Police
Alfred State College

 
Question: Are you prepared? 

. If a school shooter sets out to kill 35 students on your campus, would your campus be prepared to respond? 

. Do you have a plan in place that will help your institution survive "national scrutiny"?


What Comes to Mind as "National Scrutiny" 

. Media Scrutiny 

. FEMA Compliance Requirements

. NIMS - Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 


Federal Government Scrutiny and Compliance

. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5) requires all of us to now adopt an all-hazards approach which incorporates National Incident Management System (NIMS) principles.
.. Basically implies that we have a crisis management plan that complies in language and structure with Presidential Directive 5

. Part of the NIMS principles includes written pre-event planning. 


Why do we need a plan?

. Failing to have a plan can result in a delayed response. 

. Delayed responses can facilitate increased injuries, death, damage, financial losses, and with each of these - possible litigation. 

. With each new serious incident on a college campus (i.e. VA Tech), institutions of higher-ed incur foreseeability - arguing that no one thought it could happen 'here' will not be an effective defense.


Foreseeability

. Negligence can be determined if the incident was foreseeable. 
.. Is there any past history in regard to what happened in the incident that would have been an indication that a person could be "injured" in the future? 
.. If so, there is foreseeability and you should take corrective action before a second incident occurs.
.. If you do not, you and the College could be held liable for being negligent.


The midst of a crisis is not the time to establish relationships with responding agencies, sharpen your response skills, or learn about ICS.

. A significant crisis can serve as an "unannounced" and "unforgiving" inventory of your resources, training, relationships, and skills.


Crisis Planning vs. Crisis Procedures 

. Crisis plans of the past were laden with step by step procedures, names, and specifics.

. These hyper-detailed manuals create three noteworthy problems:


Problems with old plans 

#1 - The girth of the manual becomes so large that no one reads it or can quickly locate information. 

#2 - These long procedures are seldom updated - and many plans still reflect a pre-Columbine, pre-9/11, pre VA-Tech world.

#3 - The names and titles change faster than the updates. 


Modern crisis plans

. A modern, compliant crlsis plan needs to be: 
.. Easy to use 
.. Easy to update
.. Use common terminology and universal titles 


Structure of a good (compliant) campus crisis management plan 

. NIMS mandates the use of ICS 

. Structure 

. Incident Commander 

. Sections 

. Incident Typing 

. ICP (Incident Command Post) 


What is ICS? 

. ICS is the "Incident Command System" 

. ICS originally developed in the 70's by the Fire Service 

. ICS solves the interoperability and communication challenges faced during multi-agency responses by using common terminology and procedures 

. ICS is MODULAR
 
. ICS solves uses measurable objectives 

. ICS can help break up mental gridlock and "whose in charge?" dilemmas


Example of ICS Structure

(Organizational Chart)
Incident Commander at top
Safety Officer and Public Information Officer under Incident Commander
Operations Section and Planning section under Safety Officer
Health Services, UPD and Facilities under Operations Section
Administration under Planning Section
Logistics Section and Finance Section under Public Information Officer
ACES, Facilities, and Residential Life under Logistics Section
Business Affairs and Purchasing under Finance Section


Incident Commander

. Not the highest ranking college official! 

. The IC is chosen based on who is present and who possesses the most expertise at that specific time 

. Responsible for overall incident management 

. Assessing incident priorities 

. Evaluating needed resources 

. Coordinating with other agencies


Sections 

. Operations - manage tactical operations, establish control (responders directly fixing) 

. Planning - evaluating and analyzing information about incident, plan strategies (big picture)

. Logistics - providing services and supplies (support) 

. Finance - cost analysis, expense tracking


Administrative Framework - Incident Typing

. Type 5 - single dimension single resource, easily contained (i.e. injured person, vehicle fire)

. Type 4 - single dimension, may need limited outside resources, no additional sections needed (i.e. small fuel spill, fire in room)

. Type 3 - multi-dimensional incidents, complex, need outside resources (i.e. bomb threats, racially motivated assault)

. Type 2 - multiple-dimensional and large scale, most or all Sections open, usually exceeding campus (i.e. severe regional storm) 

. Type 1 - national resources are required, multiple operational periods, is far beyond campus ability to respond


Plan should identify structure, sections plus responsibilities, and the ICP 

. The ICP is the Incident Command Post.

. The plan should pre-designate likely spots for the ICP.

. The ICP must have phone lines, radios, computer network connection, large scale map, fax, television / radio monitoring capability.


II. Response Framework 

. The second portion of a crisis plan should include response information (not a procedural manual)

. Planner sheets, ICS 201/202 - something with incident objectives

. Make sure your plan includes recovery strategies


Communications Plan

. Your plan should have a pre-determined format for communicating emergency information to your community (i.e., NY-Alert, e-mail, siren) 

. Lesson learned from VA Tech:
.. VA Tech had just begun planning their emergency communications upgrade shortly before incident
.. VA Tech used emergency message included language that appeared to some as too vague

. The format and protocol for emergency communications should be a special section of crisis plan - and should not employ "committee-style" decision making.


Contacts

. Contacts of key personnel should be maintained on a separate list. 

. A separate list allows for faster updates and quick referencing. 

. Person responsible for updating contacts should be identified and written into plan.


Appendices

. Procedures and incident-specific planning belongs as an apendix - they are essential and critical.

. Examples of good appendices include:
.. active shooter plans;
.. shelter in place;
.. Pandemic flu plans;
.. haz/mat spills; or
.. campus evacuation plans.


Sum total of having a plan

. When a campus puts these items together, the resulting plan is:
.. compliant with current federal requirements 
.. provides a solid foundation for an effective response. 

. Form a campus crisis planning committee


Steps toward Prevention, Preparation and Response

#1 Re-affirm partnerships
.. Share your crisis management plan with outside support agencies
.. Establish MOUs with local emergency responders
.. Confirm availability of specialty responders such as bomb squads, haz-mat, county/state emergency managers
.. Identify suppliers of logistical support
.. Practice with your partners 

#2 Assess 
.. Inventory and type your resources 
.. Update your crisis plan 
.. Update your contact lists 
.. Check your proximity to external hazards such as nearby power plants, government buildings, or desirable terrorist targets (hazards analysis) 
.. Drill to test your readiness 
.. Is your plan available in both hard copy and electronic versions? 

#3 Stay informed & prevent 
.. Keep abreast of the latest threats and developments 
.. Provide mechanisms for concerned students or staff to report suspicious behavior or conditions 
.. Form multi-disciplinary Threat-Assessment Teams (i.e. Counseling, Health Services, Student Life, University Police) - suggest using Appendix M of VA Tech Review Panel findings as template or "The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective," National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, at http://www.fbi.gov/publications/school/school2.pdf
.. Proactively communicate 
.. Proactively manage incidents with potential to escalate 


Critical preventative campus wide policy issues

. Student & Employee Discipline - acts of violence, weapons 

. Mental Health - considering student with mental health issues 
.. Involuntary Withdrawal policies

. 24 hour locked residence halls?


Need (Requirement) to Drill

. Monday morning quarterback drill

. Table top drill

. Full drills

. Pitfalls to avoid for each 

. Play Incident Commander!! 


Compliance includes training! 

. The plan is part of compliance. Training is required.

. Who needs to complete training 
.. All potential Incident Commanders or Section Chiefs (i.e. Vice Presidents, University Police personnel, EHS personnel, PR Director, Health Services Director, Counseling Director, Facilities Director) 

. http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp

. ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-700 

. Also ICS-300, ICS-400, ICS-800 for select personnel