Division of Finance and Administration
Ready for Any Incident - Week of February 6
Scott Doner, director for Public Safety, looks at the display screen for the campus cameras
Plaques of all shapes and sizes adorn the office wall of Scott Doner, director for Public Safety. Some oval, some rectangular and even one with a gavel hanging from it. Now after successfully completing a rigorous training program, Doner has another plaque to add to his wall. He is one of 15, across the nation, certified as an Incident Command School Instructor.
The Incident Command System is an on-scene emergency management system that allows multiple agencies to work together efficiently without problems of jurisdictional boundaries. An ICS instructor simply teaches other officers different methods to set up an incident command post at a central location.
"The system stems from the 9/11 attacks where roughly 1,000 different agencies showed up in New York to help, but there was no real command post, " Doner said. "There were plenty of people, just no centralization."
The first ever training class, sponsored by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, led Doner to the University of Las Vegas. The three-day course presented classroom instruction, case studies and a simulation-based exercise using a model campus simulator.
"It was a tough school," Doner said. "For three days we had evaluators looking at us and watching how we react to certain situations."
The IACLEA, an association that advances campus public safety, operates two regional training centers for the ICS program: one at UNLV and the second at the University of Maryland.
"I would like to try to get the ICS program started here for our officers," Doner said. "Eventually, it will be required."
Last week, Doner taught his first class as an ICS instructor.
"The first class was great," Doner said. "Of course I was a little nervous, but when I am with others in law enforcement - things have a way of going right."
Doner, along with three other instructors, trained 25 officers with model city table top exercises and mock scenarios.
For the past 11 years, Doner has helped to protect the students of VSU. As for the next 11 years, Doner hopes to provide students with a safer campus and more resources.
Feature article and picture provided by Heather Harris, Communications Arts intern, Spring 2006.