Communication During a Mass Shooting Crisis
Nova Scotia’s mass shooting in
April left all of us shaken across the country. I know it has also raised a few questions among residents in all communities, including Surrey, about how police would respond and communicate in these types of situations where there is a significant risk to public safety.
First and foremost, I want to assure you that our officers have specialized training specifically designed to address these types of scenarios, and our equipment has been carefully selected to support the safety of our police officers and the public. With respect to how an active shooter situation would be communicated to the public, each incident would be assessed individually. Typically, we would use a number of communication channels to alert the public. These include the Surrey RCMP website, news releases, direct contact with media, police officer engagement with people living/working in the immediate area of the incident, and our Twitter and Facebook pages, which are viewable without an account.
Currently, the BC RCMP has access to the BC Amber Alert system, for missing children. We have never had to request the use of the British Columbia Emergency Alerting System, managed by Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC), for other policing incidents. The BC RCMP is currently working with EMBC to examine its usefulness in high risk public safety matters, such as an active shooter situation.
The safety of everyone who lives and works in Surrey is always our top priority. When the investigation in Nova Scotia is completed, we will be carefully considering any recommendations that come forward.