Shooter rampage exercise puts blue light services to the test

Thursday 23 April 2015

A shooter will be on the loose in the Island tomorrow but don’t worry, all our emergency services are onto him already.

Islanders can expect to see a number of blue lights flashing as the police, fire service, ambulance and coastguard get on the case to track him down as part of their emergency planning exercise.

Their resources will be stretched to the limit as they are called out to a number of different locations on a big “manhunt”.

The planning team leader Acting Inspector Paul Smith said: “The last thing we want to do is cause unnecessary concern for Islanders but between about 10 am and 2.30 pm on Friday we will be running this joint emergency exercise.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about, it is part of a pre-planned exercise, involving a firearms incident.”

The training is part of JESIPS - a national programme introduced here last year to make sure our blue light services can adapt and respond to major incidents.

Acting Inspector Smith said: “The joint up approach is critical to the response that members of the public receive. It’s fundamental that we all respond together in a coordinated fashion to increase situational awareness so that commanders and attending officers can make the best informed decisions to increase the safety of the public.”

Local residents and businesses have already been warned about the exercise but some roads will be closed off for a time to everyone other than those who live nearby.