Evanston police are reviewing procedures for sharing critical information during a lockdown situation at one of Evanston’s schools, officials said.
“Lockdowns vary in nature; some are precautionary measures to secure a school while teaching continues,” the department said in a news release. “Others are in response to active threats or hazardous situations.”
In an effort to enhance safety communications, Evanston police have undertaken a review of the department’s procedures for sharing critical information during a lockdown situation at one of Evanston’s schools, the news release said.
It said that moving forward, in the event of a school lockdown the EvanstonAlerts Emergency Notification System will be utilized to disseminate the following notification, “Evanston alert: The following Evanston school has been placed on lockdown [name of school and location]. Visit the Evanston Police Twitter page for updates. Please follow the instructions to confirm receipt of this message.”
To receive an alert of a school lockdown community members must register for the EvanstonAlert Emergency Notification System. Users should then make sure to opt-in to receive alert subscriptions by email, text and/or phone call for the school lockdown category, said the news release.
The alert will only be sent if the school locks down in cooperation with the Evanston Police Department, according to the news release.
Police also recommend residents become familiar with each on the north suburb’s school lockdown procedures and terminology, which can be found on the respective district websites.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.