Long Beach agencies working together for student safety

To prevent the worst from happening inside a school, Long Beach police teams and the fire department conduct active shooter drills inside an elementary school.

Inside WJ Quarles Elementary School, officers are doing everything they can to be prepared for an active shooter. It’s a collaborative effort between first responders and the local schools to keep students safe.

At this annual training, first responders work together through intruder simulations.

Working inside a school gives them a chance to become familiar with the campus. The departments can then share their response plans with faculty.

Captain Patrick Craig says not shying away from this reality is part of their commitment to the community.

“We want our officers constantly prepared. If you come to Long Beach and work here, you’re going to get this training,” Craig said. “We work hand-in-hand with our school district. We do the civilian response active shooter training for our teachers. We want the community to know that we are training on this. We try to stay up to date-on everything we can. I often talk about the three pillars: you need community support, community trust, and community partnerships. And this is another way of building that partnership with our school district.”

They don’t just practice at WJ Quarles Elementary School. Each year, the Long Beach Police Department picks a different school to run its drills.