Content note: this story includes brief descriptions and photos of simulated active shooter events. 

It’s a situation no one hopes to face: an attacker is targeting or among a group of people. And yet, it’s a reality for thousands of people each year.

Should an active attacker situation happen, officers who train at the NECC Police Academy will be equipped with the latest response method called ALERRT. The FBI has deemed ALERRT– which stands for Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training –  the gold standard in response curriculum. The course is designed to improve the safety and survivability of victims of active attack/shooter events and increase the effectiveness, coordination, and resource integration between law enforcement, fire, telecommunication, and EMS.

“Active Shooter and Hostile Event Response training is critical to ensuring first responders are prepared to act decisively and collaboratively during life-threatening emergencies,” said Municipal Police Training Committee Statewide Director of Active Shooter Hostile Event Response John J. Mazza. “The recent ALERRT train-the-trainer program is imperative in rolling out the most up-to-date curriculum and contributing to the Commonwealth’s mission to advance multi-agency preparedness and community resilience.”

The Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) held the four-day intensive Train the Trainer course for NECC Policy Academy instructors earlier this month. The program included classroom time during the day and extensive simulated shooting drills in the evenings. The hallway of the first floor of the E Building on the Haverhill Campus transformed as officers donned protective gear and armed themselves with training guns that shoot blanks.

In one scenario, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery. Upon seeing the police, the attacker shot one victim and then fled into a crowded room. Officers had to identify and disarm the shooter quickly, secure the room, and triage the victim. Another simulation involved a shooter who attempted to blend in with fleeing bystanders and a plain-clothed officer who was injured. Responding officers used their training to communicate quickly and clearly to identify who was the threat.

Student officers of the MPTC-NECC Police Academy 5th Recruit Officer Class (ROC-05) who graduated in the spring of 2024 were the first to receive the ALERRT training. This month’s Train the Trainer event ensures the academy has a deep pool of ALERRT instructors for current and future classes. Trainers at the event were law enforcement officers from local cities, towns, and counties. The group also included several FBI agents.

ALERRT was created in 2002 as a partnership between Texas State University and Texas state and local law enforcement. ALERRT has a criminal justice research department that works continuously to evaluate and enhance the overall understanding of active shooter events and assist in improving law enforcement best practices. In 2013, ALERRT at Texas State was named the National Standard in Active Shooter Response Training by the FBI. Since then, it has been rolled out nationally, and the ALERRT curriculum has been adopted by numerous states and agencies. All student officers who attend an MPTC Police Academy in Massachusetts will receive ALERRT training.

The MPTC-NECC Police Academy provides student officers with over 800 hours of intensive training to prepare them to serve as full-time officers in municipalities and police agencies across the state. In addition to the ALERRT training, the MPTC Recruit Officer Course (ROC) curriculum includes de-escalation training based on new use-of-force policies and regulations. Student officers also receive uniform training based on best practices related to essential modern-day policing needs, including effective communication skills, victim-centered and trauma-informed incident response, missing persons and human trafficking investigations, mental health-related emergency response, patrol duties, and officer safety and wellness.

To learn more about the MPTC-NECC Police Academy, visit the webpage or contact Director Joshua Stokel.