Chatham-Kent (CK) police have inked a partnership with the St. Clair Catholic District School Board to use its school facilities for police training.
On Thursday, CK police said the partnership will allow all frontline officers to get Immediate Rapid Deployment (IRD) training while also supporting training for officers from several neighbouring police services.
According to CK police, IRD training prepares regular officers to quickly and effectively respond to critical incidents and confront active threats and emergencies in schools and the community such as shootings, while strengthening emergency preparedness and enhance public safety across the region.
CK police told CK News Today that "at this time" there are no plans to have police training at schools while they are occupied by students, adding that safety and minimizing disruption are always priorities for the students and for police.
"To meet provincial policing standards, officers must train in environments that closely replicate real-world settings," said CK police. "The use of school facilities has allowed the Chatham-Kent Police Service to provide realistic, high-quality training [in school settings] while maintaining compliance with current provincial training requirements."
Police training that has been done at the vacant former St. Ursula School in Chatham for two years will take place at the vacant former George P. Vanier Catholic School in Chatham from July 27 to July 31, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
This police training is routinely scheduled and mandated by the province and is not in response to any specific threat or incident, according to CK police.
“This continued and valuable partnership between St. Clair Catholic and Chatham-Kent Police is important because it helps ensure the safety and well-being of both our schools and community. We are happy to assist our local law enforcement in any way possible because when we work together, everyone benefits,” said Lisa Demers, Director of Education of St. Clair Catholic District School Board.
CK police thanked the school board for its ongoing support and commitment to creating safer schools and stronger communities.
