Preparing for Critical Incidents

In light of the mass casualty incidents that have occurred in Las Vegas and Florida, the Corona Police Department would like to take a moment to inform our community of the training, preparations and partnerships we have been engaged in so that our officers are well prepared for a critical incident.

All sworn officers participate in annual Active Shooter training. During these events, officers train alongside the Corona Fire Department and other law enforcement agencies from local, state and federal jurisdictions, who will respond to a mutual aid request in the event of a major incident. Active shooter training takes place at school sites and local businesses, with volunteer role players as “victims,” to maximize the realism of the scenarios officers will have to effectively handle.

Another component of the training includes equipping officers with lifesaving medical and law enforcement equipment that can be immediately used during an active shooter incident. Corona Fire Department paramedics began training our officers several years ago on how to quickly address the types of serious injuries that can occur during a mass casualty shooting incident, significantly improving survivability.

The Corona Police Department training staff has officers and supervisors dedicated to receiving the latest research-based methods for a law enforcement active shooter response. Our training staff attends the annual conference at the University of Texas ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) Center at Texas State University where training and de-briefings of past mass casualty incidents experienced by other police agencies are presented. The lessons learned from those prior incidents are then incorporated into the training our officers receive. In 2013, the FBI named the ALERRT program as the National Standard in Active Shooter Response training.

On the topic of school safety, law enforcement agencies throughout the County of Riverside, including the Corona Police Department, are part of the collaborative School Threat Assessment and Response (STAR) protocol that standardizes a very thorough response by law enforcement, the Riverside County Probation Department, and Riverside County District Attorney’s office to a potential school threat.

In addition to this protocol, our partnership with the Corona-Norco Unified School District is second to none. We have a proven track record of working together to identify and address any potential threat to school safety and will continue to train and work closely together for the safety of our students and educators. The Corona Police Department has instituted a School Safety webpage that provides information on investigations of rumored threats to our schools and is updated as soon as we have facts that address the concerning comment or threat.

Public safety is the top priority of the Corona Police Department and we have taken proactive measures in our partnerships and training to address these types of critical incidents.