NCJ Number
218962
Journal
Law and Order: The Magazine for Police Management Volume: 55 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 49-50,52-53,55,57
Date Published
May 2007
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article, part 1 of 2, describes a training scenario in the United Kingdom for emergency first responders, called Exercise Ox.
Abstract
Exercise Ox was a multi-agency “live” training exercise designed to train emergency first responders on how to handle a combined response to a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incident. The response team included the Multi-Agency Initial Assessment Team (MAIAT), comprised of police officers, a fire officer, and an ambulance decontamination officer. The police lead the coordination of the MAIAT, which operates on an on-call basis deploying officers from their regular duties when called. Following MAIAT’s response to Exercise Ox, several recommendations for improvement were made by victims and evaluators. The main recommendation was the need for increased communication between first responders and victims. Victims and others at the scene complained that first responders did not communicate with them at all and when they did, their personal protective equipment (PPE) made it difficult to hear or understand the instructions being given. The feedback provided by victims asked that short and clear instructions be provided, such as “follow the others.” The training also exposed shortcomings in communications between responding agencies that were caused, in part, by the lack of co-location command vehicles, a mismatch in command structures, and a poorly coordinated multi-agency meeting structure. Despite these shortcomings, Exercise Ox was a success because of the flaws in response that were exposed. Exhibits