Wilkes University Department of Public Safety Hosts Active Attack Response Training For Area Law Enforcement

Wilkes-Barre, PA (06/07/2019) — The Wilkes University Department of Public Safety in partnership with the Wyoming Police Department is hosting Active Attack Integrated Response training to community police, fire and medical personnel. The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center provides the training for local first responders.

The media are invited to cover simulated attack exercises from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11 in Wilkes University's Stark Learning Center, 150 S. River St., Wilkes-Barre. This hands-on training will simulate the response of police and emergency personnel during an active attack situation.

Emergency personnel from Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Plains, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Nanticoke, Plymouth, Pittston and Hanover Twp. are expected to participate. Personnel from the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office and Luzerne County 911 are also expected to attend.

The trainings are designed to increase the effectiveness, coordination and integration of resources between police, fire and EMS agencies. It provides law enforcement and emergency services officers with important response tactics that can be used to aid victims and increase survival rates. These skills are based on the tactical emergency casualty care guidelines from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

The two-day, 16-hour course from June 10 to 13 provides training directly to first responders. This training is on the heels of a 40-hour train-the-trainer seminar, held June 3 to 7, that allows attendees to share their knowledge across police departments and in their communities.

"This is an integral part of our all-hazards approach to delivering critical emergency services for Wilkes University and the surrounding community. We're proud to have ALERRT select Wilkes as a training site," said Christopher Jagoe, Wilkes director of public safety. "Our officers have and will continue to train in responding to critical incidents such as an active attack. In doing so, we must also prepare our first responders to safely intervene, control bleeding and save lives. We are pleased to collaborate and train with our local police, fire, EMS and telecommunications dispatchers to provide effective and coordinated responses to critical incidents in the surrounding area."

ALERRT was created in 2002 as a partnership between Texas State University, the San Marcos, Texas Police Department and the Hays County, Texas Sheriff's Office to address the need for active shooter response training for first responders. Since its inception, ALERRT has been awarded more than $72 million in state and federal grant funding and has trained more than 130,000 law enforcement and fire officials nationwide. In 2013, ALERRT at Texas State was named the National Standard in Active Shooter Response Training by the FBI.

Media interested in covering the trainings are asked to contact Gabrielle D'Amico at (570) 592-7839 to access the training site.

For more stories about Wilkes University and its students, faculty and staff, please visit News@Wilkes.

About Wilkes University:

Wilkes University is a private, independent, non-sectarian institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences and professional programs. Founded in 1933, Wilkes is on a mission to create one of the nation's finest doctoral universities, offering all of the programs, activities and opportunities of a large university in the intimate, caring and mentoring environment of a small college, open to all who show promise. The Economist named Wilkes 25th in the nation for the value of its education for graduates. In addition to 46 majors, Wilkes offers 24 master's degree programs and five doctoral/terminal degree programs, including the doctor of philosophy in nursing, doctor of nursing practice, doctor of education, doctor of pharmacy, and master of fine arts in creative writing. Learn more at www.wilkes.edu.

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