During spring break, particularly on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, Skokie police from the Tactical Intervention Unit gathered at Niles North to practice how to respond to someone posing a threat to the school community. When students practice their response to similar threats, we have lock down drills, which entail turning off the lights, locking the door, and sitting on the floor out of sight from the classroom doors. While on an average day students often treat this preparation with little attention as they swipe their thumbs across small screens, the police got into position and acted in a rough, serious manner as if with the conviction that the drill was not just a drill.

They ran through three scenarios, utilizing the knowledge of our security staff to learn the layout of our school. Student volunteers were used to help make the experience as real as possible. When students fled from the auditorium during one scenario, police received them and regarded them simultaneously as a released hostage or as a potential threat. Without the sure sign of seeing someone emerge with a gun in hand, it is hard for the police to distinguish potential “good guys” from potential “bad guys.”

After all, a threat to our community could come from an unknown outsider, a student, or a faculty member. By remaining wary of assumptions and of anyone they encounter, police can train to be flexible and adapt quickly to different circumstances. Volunteer students found that for this reason the police tended to be a tad rough when they handled them. While in average circumstances that behavior might be looked poorly upon, the experience helped to teach students that in serious situations it is important to listen to instructions and not take their rough countenance personally.

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