Submitted story

On Saturday, May 18, Urbana Police Sergeant Logan Dunn visited with congregation members of the Urbana River of Life Church, teaching them the best practice protocols to know and follow in the event they ever encounter an active threat of violence there.

Dunn is a certified ALICE instructor for the police division. ALICE stands for: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate and the presentation offers attendees various different options for folks to use if they ever find themselves facing an active threat of violence during a church service.

Dunn presented the same program to this month’s Champaign County Safety Council meeting on May 21. The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Division of Safety & Hygiene sponsors the monthly safety meeting and they are open to all companies, corporations, and individual employers. This training was held at the Madison-Champaign Educational Service Center.

During his presentations, Dunn showed attendees ways to better prepare both their mindset and body to be able to react prior to anything even happening so that if an event were to occur, they’ll already have various options to use for increasing their chances of survival in an active violent event. Dunn helped the attendees to better understand the physical layout of the location, knowing the difference between what is considered soft cover versus hard cover within the location, knowing where all of the exits are located, knowing the importance of putting space between you and the person committing the violent act, and, the need to communicate suspect and victim information to the police quickly so that they know what they are going to be encountering upon their arrival.

The Urbana Police Division presents the ALICE program a few times every year and is available to present the program to local organizations wanting it. The program generally last 45 minutes but can last longer if practical exercises are part of the program. To arrange for the ALICE program to be taught for your organization you can contact either UPD Chief Matt Lingrell at [email protected] or Sergeant Logan Dunn at [email protected].

Info submitted by Urbana Police Division Chief Matthew Lingrell