Have you ever sat at your desk and considered how you would react if a shooter burst into your school or workplace and opened fire?
SFU campus security and Burnaby RCMP say that might not be a bad idea.
The university and local Mounties have partnered on a new public safety campaign aimed at educating SFU students and the community at large on what to do in case of a so-called “active threat.”
Much as people know to “stop, drop and roll” if they catch on fire, the initiative is looking to teach people to “run, hide and take action” in the event of a mass shooting.
The campaign includes a video with an introduction by Burnaby RCMP Chief Supt. Dave Critchley.
“Trust your instincts and believe it may actually be happening,” says Critchley as part of his advice on how to act during an active-threat emergency.
The video, which depicts a fictional mass shooting at SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus, features staff and student actors as well as a real-life Burnaby RCMP cruiser and officer – Const. Sam Bowen.
It was shot by SFU’s creative services team over three days in fall 2014.
“There’s a lot of stock video on the market,” senior director of SFU Campus Safety and Security Services Steven MacLean told the NOW, “but we wanted to create something that was specific to our university, and we wanted to make sure that we did it well.”
MacLean said partnering with local Mounties on the video and awareness campaign was a natural fit.
Besides participating in the video, local police also provided an active-threat subject matter expert, Staff Sgt. Andy Leclair, to review the campaign materials.
“We have a really good working relationship with the Burnaby RCMP,” MacLean said, “and we’re involved in several crime prevention initiatives with them. This is important to them as well, and it was just a really good opportunity for us to create something that really demonstrated that partnership.”
SFU is “fairly well prepared” for a real active-threat emergency, according to MacLean, and campus security has worked with local police to plan a co-ordinated response.
“We do have plans with the Burnaby RCMP,” MacLean said. “We have conducted site orientations and training with them to make sure that we’re familiar with each other’s procedures and that they’re familiar with the campus.”
For more information and to see the active-threat video, visit sfu.ca/activethreat.
