Violence in America is a  threat, and the Fort Scott Police Department is scheduling a training session to help local entities deal with the possible threat.

“The FSPD will be hosting this training with certified trainers from ALICE coming to Ellis Fine Arts Center to do the training for us,” FS Police Officer Derick Burke said.

“Our local businesses, churches, schools, and hospitals are often where there is a larger gathering,” Burke said.  “Most recently we have been seeing more and more churches being the target.  In the past, it had been seen more in schools.  This training is being offered so people in our community can take what they learned from certified ALICE trainers back to their church, business, school, and be able to hold their own training.  Job turnover is always a possibility and when a new employee is hired, you shouldn’t have to call around to schedule a training with someone else, simply put the person you had trained by a certified ALICE trainer to good use and keep the drive for workplace safety alive.”

“ALICE is an acronym for a systematic approach to combat an active shooter or violent intruder situation by using proactive response strategies,” Burke said.  “This type of training is set up for all ages, young and old, male or female.”

ALICE stands for:

Alert- Notification and recognition of the possibility of danger.

Lockdown- If evacuation is not the safe option, barricade entry points and prepare for evacuation or the possibility to counter the threat.

Inform- Communicate on the shooter location with clear and concise information by any means possible.

Counter- If evacuation is not possible, counter with noise, movement, distraction and distance, making it more difficult for the shooter to shoot accurately.

Evacuate- When it is possible to evacuate, run from the danger and exit quickly.

“The training is open to anyone willing and wanting to learn, and then take what they learned, and teach it to others,” Burke said.  “Age, gender, strength, size….does not matter.  This training is tailored to fit anyone. ”

Registering for this class by visiting the website www.alicetraining.com, look for the dates, June 16- June 17, 2020.

The training will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m,  in Fort Scott at the Ellis Arts Center on the Campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2401 S. Horton.

The cost is $595.00 for early bird registration, $695.00 for anyone after the first 10 registrants.