The University of North Alabama’s Police Department will be hosting A.L.I.C.E. overview sessions throughout the fall semester to inform students and staff about upcoming A.L.I.C.E. training sessions. These events will introduce the base information for the training program without the scenario exercises. 

A.L.I.C.E., which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate, is a nationally recognized training program intended to teach students and staff strategies for responding to armed aggressors or in active shooter situations. The program helps to inform students and staff of strategies that could be applied to survive active threat situations until law enforcement arrives. 

These overview sessions will be held throughout the semester, starting as early as Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and an afternoon session held from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.. Later dates include Sep 24, Oct 27 and Nov 19. All sessions will be held in the Stone Lodge. Both the A.L.I.C.E. overview and training sessions are free for students and staff to attend. 

The A.L.I.C.E. program itself is a three-hour-long training session that will go into more detail for each step of the A.L.I.C.E. model. Some topics include case studies, policy and procedure reviews, design and classroom layouts and trauma first aid. The program will incorporate scenario-based exercises that can give attendees the chance to practice and apply the strategies taught during the program. The overview sessions are intended to introduce students and staff to the principal concepts of A.L.I.C.E. and encourage them to return for the full training experience. 

The program will highlight that typical lockdown or secure-in-place procedures that are used by most institutions are a safe option, but it may not be the best option in cases where lockdown procedures can not be achieved or if an area can not be secured properly. The UNA Police Department stated they believe it could be “potentially dangerous for it to be the only option”. 

The program intends to provide tools for students and staff to be able to act quickly during what could be critical moments. The program intends to teach attendees “what to do when seconds count”. 

The A.L.I.C.E. overview sessions are designed to encourage students and staff to be aware of these procedures and to return to later full training sessions to experience hands-on training.