On April 12, the Lindenwood University Department of Public Safety and Security, in collaboration with local law enforcement, sponsored a high-level training tabletop exercise for faculty, staff, and area stakeholders.

Participants included representatives from the St. Charles City Police Department, St. Charles County Police Department, St. Charles Fire Department, Lindenwood Communications, Operations, and Academics, SSM Health, St. Charles County Regional Emergency Management, and the St. Charles County Ambulance District.

The tabletop exercise was designed to evaluate emergency preparedness, current procedures, as well as train personnel on how to work as a group effectively and efficiently in the event of a real-life, high-level event.

The exercise design team was led by LU’s Emergency Management Specialist Cynthia Holten, along with help from the Public Safety leadership group.

“Cynthia developed an interactive approach to work with local and regional partners in fitting their smaller pieces to the puzzle in completing the bigger picture on how we would respond to an active shooter event,” Director of Public Safety and Security Ryan M. Anderson said. “She executed the exercise in a clear, concise, and collaborative manner.”

Additionally, the exercise followed a sequence of events that employed teamwork between emergency responders, where logistics, credentialing, administrative and technical support, public safety and security, and radio interoperability were some of the performance measures discussed and evaluated.

“Exercises like this are vital in that they bring regional partners together to discuss planned responses to major events,” Associate Director of Public Safety and Security John Kamm said. “Agencies can then identify areas where plans may conflict and make adjustments in a controlled environment, rather than during an actual crisis.”