Beginning later this month, Brown students, staff and faculty will have the opportunity to participate in newly-designed hostile intruder preparedness training. The training focuses on providing practical guidance for responding to an active threat or hostile intruder situation, including those involving an active shooter. Designed with sensitivity and a trauma-informed framework, the one-hour sessions are voluntary.

We are writing to provide details about the features of the training to allow individual members of our community to make the personal decision how, when and whether to participate. As our community continues its path of recovery from the Dec. 13 mass shooting, we know that building a sense of preparedness for such events can help contribute to an individual sense of safety and well-being. At the same time, we understand that each person’s readiness to participate will vary. In-person and virtual sessions allow individuals to participate in ways that meet their needs.

Grounded in nationally recognized best practices, the training includes elements of flexibility, access and personal choice. Please read more about these features in the second half of this communication. Distinct from existing training options, tailored sessions will be offered to students and separately to employees (faculty and staff), and participants sign up as individuals.

The training builds on an existing portfolio of training offered by the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management (DPSEM) to groups across campus. Both the individual and the existing group trainings are distinct from, and complementary to, the mandatory specialized training required for Brown first responders and emergency response personnel. The purpose of the new trauma-informed sessions is to provide foundational preparedness for members of the broader campus community. Even if you have attended a hostile intruder training in the past, you may want to consider these updated sessions, which will begin this month and continue into April:

To view training dates and register, please use this registration link.

About the New Training

The hostile intruder preparedness training is informed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and higher education safety experts. Sessions will be led by FBI-trained instructors. They will focus on situational awareness, decision-making and personal safety readiness.

The sessions are built around the widely used Run, Hide, Fight framework. As part of the trauma-informed approach, content will not deviate from this framework, will be delivered consistently in the same order for each session, and will be announced prior to each element. This approach allows individuals to make the personal choice to opt out of ongoing participation at any time during a session. 

The trauma-informed design of the trainings include the following features:

• Separate one-hour sessions: tailored for students, and tailored for faculty and staff
• A choice of in-person and virtual sessions (may participate in either or both)
• Clear content framing at the outset of each session
• Each Run, Hide, Fight element introduced in advance during each session
• Will not include loud or simulated noises
• Will not include graphic images or graphic video

Preview Brown’s existing Run, Hide, Fight guidance at any time on the Hostile Intruder(s) Emergency Response Guidance section of the Emergency Information page.

Participation, Choice and Support

The new preparedness sessions emphasize intentional pacing and personal choice. Again, participation in this training is voluntary.

We want to underscore the following:

• No one is required to attend or to remain in a session.
• Participants may step out of the room — or log off or turn their camera off for virtual sessions — at any time, for any reason.
• There is no expectation that everyone will engage with this training in the same way.

Information about support services will be available during and after each session. For in-person trainings, contact information for available support services, including 24/7 resources, will be provided on site for anyone who may need assistance. For virtual sessions, this information will be shared electronically.

Current and Ongoing Group Training Options

In addition to the new sessions, we want to remind our community that there are a number of other safety trainings that have been available for many years from DPSEM. Among the workshops, training and tabletop exercises available to Brown departments, offices and student groups is a course that provides practical strategies for responding to a hostile intruder or active shooter situation. Similar to the new sessions, these trainings emphasize the nationally recognized “Run, Hide, Fight” approach. The course highlights campus resources, response plans, and recovery support, and participants learn how to assess rapidly changing situations, make informed decisions, and protect themselves and others.

Leaders from DPSEM routinely deliver these courses in-person to units and groups across campus upon request multiple times during each academic year. In addition, to accompany the University’s written Emergency Action Plan, Brown maintains web-based Emergency Action Plan Training available to community members. This is available through the Workday and TrainCaster platforms and focuses on procedures for situations including evacuations, shelter-in-place orders, hostile intruder incidents and emergency reporting.

Learn more about available training opportunities on the Courses page of the DPSEM website.

We remain committed to offering training that is supportive and grounded in care for the needs of our community, while continuing to prioritize readiness and shared responsibility for safety.

With care,

Sarah Latham, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration

Hugh T. Clements, Interim Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police