Law Enforcement Technology

MAY 2014

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20 Law Enforcement Technology May 2014 www.officer.com DISASTER RESPONSE Not just for the big stuff Thompson says Phoenix uses ICS sev- eral times a week. The most beneficial incidents are ones where multiple juris- dictions work together either during an incident or a planned event, but not everyone was on board with the idea at first. "We were having trouble selling the old guard that you could actually plan events," he explains. Some of the older officers referred to the incident where Phoenix Officer Leonard Kolodziej was shot and killed by a sniper in 1991. "The old guard stated you can't plan for these types of events. You have to fly by the seat of your pants," Thompson says. "That is absolutely ludicrous—you need to man- age your people and your resources." Nunn reiterates that ICS can be used daily. Even the smallest incident can benefit from a low-level of ICS because it's adaptable. "It's scalable to the point it could be one, two or three people," he says. "It can be complex, but you can scale it, too." ICS consists of standards that allow for flexibility depending on the agencies involved and the type of incident. All incidents can benefit. The importance of nation- al implementation of ICS at all levels of government for all incidents was reinforced in 2011 with Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8). This stated NIMS/ICS was the standard to meet the nation's emergency preparedness goal. When agencies use ICS for smaller events and/or planned events, public safety practices how they play. "Using ICS on all the calls helps you know what to do when the bigger things happen," explains Marybeth Oleary, External Affairs Officer, FEMA. Oleary has a background in the fire service. Nunn, on the other hand, has a military back- ground. Regardless, both agree. "We're taught to train the way we fight," explains Nunn. Even though during smaller incidents it might not make sense to fully implement ICS, going through the process prevents the concept from being foreign when something larger occurs. Making ICS procedures second nature is important to its success. Playing nice in the sandbox One of the most complicated things about this standard involves the rela- tionships between jurisdictions and dis- ciplines. "We have something that per- plexes me across the nation," explains Thompson in reference to the friction he sees between some fire departments and police departments. "In Phoenix, During UC, agencies work together to achieve a common goal, but the most appropriate agency takes lead. Although excellent for large events, ICS/UC's flexibility can be scaled down to fit any event. Agencies across the country are training in ICS/UC during active shooter scenarios in schools . LET_18-22_Winging0514.indd 20 4/18/14 3:30 PM

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