Northern Essex Police Academy Training Recruits in Active Shooter and Hostile Event Response

Active Shooter and Hostile Event Response training at Northern Essex Community College. (Courtesy photograph.)

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The Northern Essex Community College Police Academy is now training recruits with Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, called the FBI’s gold standard for use in active attack and shooter events.

The ALERRT course is designed to improve the safety and survivability of victims and increase the effectiveness, coordination and resource integration between law enforcement, fire, telecommunication and emergency medical services.

“Active Shooter and Hostile Event Response training is critical to ensuring first responders are prepared to act decisively and collaboratively during life-threatening emergencies,” said Municipal Police Training Committee Statewide Director of Active Shooter Hostile Event Response John J. Mazza. “The recent ALERRT train-the-trainer program is imperative in rolling out the most up-to-date curriculum and contributing to the Commonwealth’s mission to advance multi-agency preparedness and community resilience.”

The Municipal Police Training Committee held the four-day intensive Train the Trainer course for instructors last month. The program included classroom time during the day and extensive simulated shooting drills in the evenings. The hallway of the first floor of the E Building on the Haverhill campus transformed as officers donned protective gear and armed themselves with training guns that shoot blanks.

In one scenario, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery. Upon seeing the police, the attacker shot one victim and then fled into a crowded room. Officers had to identify and disarm the shooter quickly, secure the room and triage the victim. Another simulation involved a shooter who attempted to blend in with fleeing bystanders and a plain-clothed officer who was injured. Responding officers used their training to communicate quickly and clearly to identify who was the threat.

The Police Academy’s fifth Recruit Officer Class that graduated in the spring of 2024 was the first to receive the ALERRT training.

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