Learning From the Bystander Intervention Pilot Program

From Naval Education and Training Command Public Affairs

ORLANDO, Fla. (NNS) -- The results of a Navy program aimed at eliminating violence against women were briefed at the Department of the Navy Sexual Assault and Prevention Response Summit held in Orlando, Fla., May 4.

Conducted over the past year, the Bystander Intervention Pilot Program was designed to determine the viability of implementing a bystander intervention training program for the Navy and Marine Corps.

"Bystander intervention approaches teach our service members to take action when risky peer behavior is observed," stated Capt. Chuck Hollingsworth, commanding officer of the Center for Personal and Professional Development in Norfolk, Va., which coordinated the contract for the training and collected survey data used to assess its effectiveness. "It's appropriate for all audiences, because while most Sailors don't perpetrate the illegal behavior, all are in a position to stop it."

Using the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, the Navy selected 25 commands to participate in the pilot. MVP is a leadership program focused on gender violence prevention and education and was established in 1993 as a multi-racial, mixed-gender training program geared toward high school and college-age students. The program also focuses on professional athletes in the fight against all forms of violence against women. MVP uses bystander intervention as a strategy to prevent sexual violence and has been implemented broadly throughout the country including secondary schools, college athletics, sororities and fraternities, youth service providers, and professional sports associations. Surveys were conducted before and after the MVP training to determine if Sailors realized a change in attitude toward intervention in sexual assault related incidents.

"The survey data indicated a significant attitude change for our junior Sailors (E-4 and below)," said Hollingsworth. "More importantly for our Navy, however, the survey respondents reported 31 interventions that took place because of the training. These are incidents that were avoided because Sailors took care of Sailors."

In the MVP model for training delivery, Sailors who were designated as command trainers received two days of intense MVP training, including a "teach-back" session, and then returned to deliver the peer-to-peer training to their units. Class participants receive training in areas including gender relations, abuses of power and discussions of social norms, all centered on the principle of supporting mutual dignity and respect.

"Bystander intervention is clearly a great fit for the Navy culture," said CPPD Command Master Chief (SW/AW) Stephan Fontenot. "It is all about Sailors taking care of Sailors, and these skills can be used not only to prevent sexual assault, but for numerous other situations where our Sailors find themselves needing to watch each others' backs.

Bystander intervention training is one piece of a larger strategy addressing changes in attitudes and behaviors about sexual assault. Based on the results of the pilot, Navy leadership is currently assessing the best way to provide bystander intervention skills throughout the Navy.

"We've all taken an oath to 'support and defend'," Hollingsworth concluded. "It's time we started applying that oath to our own force."

Active Shooter Workshop

Active Shooter Workshop for
Law Enforcement and School Administrators

Date: June 5, 2007
Location: The campus of Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind.

The International Tactical Officers Training Association and Indiana State University will co-host a workshop to help prepare police and school administrators to deal with shooting incidents like the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. The one-day workshop on June 5, "Active Shooters on Campus: Critical Strategies for Law Enforcement Officers & School Administrators," will feature experts in active-shooter encounters, high-stress scenarios, school security and violence, emergency management and close-quarters.

The workshop is geared toward law enforcement; school security officers, state, city and campus law enforcement, as well as administrators and counselors at junior and high schools, colleges and universities; from throughout the region.

"No one ever expects a situation like what happened at Virginia Tech, but what we can do is be prepared to the best of our ability, and that is what this workshop is about," said workshop coordinator Jason Winkle, president of the International Tactical Officers Training Association.

Former director of combatives for the United States Military Academy at West Point and current president of the ITOTA, Jason Winkle is an international presenter in the areas of tactical operations, leadership in high-stress/high-fear environments, counter-terrorism tactics and ethical decision-making.

"School administrators can be a hindrance when they don't know the protocol for dealing with an active shooter. If they understand what's happening and what their role is, it lessens the fear and increases their ability to respond," Winkle said. "Our goal is to get everyone on the same page and train them so they are as prepared as possible for these worst-case scenarios."

Presenting with Winkle will be Louis Rapoli, a police sergeant in the School Safety Division of a major metropolitan police department on the East Coast, and a school security consultant; Dr. Dorene Hojnicki, director of the Vigo County Emergency Management Agency, and public health coordinator of the Vigo County Health Department; and Jeffrey Edwards, exercise physiologist, and chairperson and professor of Indiana State University's physical education department.

Workshop agenda for June 5, 2007:

8:00-8:30
Registration, ISU's Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede I
8:30-9:50
Debrief of Virginia Tech Shooting & Update on School Violence in U.S. (Louis Rapoli)
10:00-10:50
The Mindset for Combating Active Shooters (Jason Winkle)
11:00-11:55
Understanding the Physiology of High-Fear & High-Stress Scenarios (Jeffrey Edwards)
12:00-1:00
Lunch
1:00-1:55
Emergency Management Agency's Role in Active-Shooter Encounters (Dorene Hojnicki)
2:00-4:00
Active-Shooter Doctrine: Why We Must All Understand This Process (Jason Winkle)

Speakers:
- Louis Rapoli is a police sergeant in the School Safety Division of a major metropolitan police department on the East Coast, and a school security consultant. His primary assignment is to conduct preliminary investigations on all threats that come in to the metropolitan area's public school system, assess them and handle them accordingly. Sgt. Rapoli has been to Virginia to be debriefed on the Virginia Tech shooting, and will share what happened and how we can learn from this tragedy.

- Jason Winkle, recognized as a top international consultant and presenter in both military and law enforcement communities, is an assistant professor of physical education at Indiana State University, and president of the International Tactical Officers Training Association. Former director of combatives for the United States Military Academy at West Point, Winkle has more than 12 years of experience training members of the U.S. elite special operations community. His combat-readiness regimens have revolutionized the training approach utilized by numerous tactical teams and military special operators. He has a Ph.D. in education, leadership, administration & foundations from Indiana State University; a master's in kinesiology and a bachelor's in philosophy, both from Indiana University.

- Dr. Dorene Hojnicki is the director of the Vigo County Emergency Management Agency, and public health coordinator of the Vigo County Health Department. Dr. Hojnicki has more than 30 years of experience in emergency medicine, working with first responders, law enforcement and EMS personnel. She is a board-certified emergency physician and serves as medical director for numerous volunteer fire departments in the Wabash Valley. As an emergency room registered nurse, she did her trauma training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She is the former medical director of student health services and team physician for Indiana State University.

- Jeffrey Edwards is an exercise physiologist, and chairperson and professor of Indiana State University's physical education department, and interim chairperson of athletic training. He received his Ph.D. in human performance with an emphasis in physiology from Indiana University. Edwards was a member of the Big Red Scientific expedition high-altitude research team that climbed Mt. McKinley in Alaska; he served as research director for the National Institute for Fitness and Sport in Indianapolis, and was instrumental in starting its research laboratories; and is the inventor of the GPAC
(Global Positioning Activity Counter), a small, computerized device for measuring both physical activity and geographic location.

FOR more information on attending contact the itota at info@itota.net or call (812) 878-7928.

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, law enforcement personnel who have written books.

School Shootings and Workplace Violence Response

“Active Shooter” is a phrase coined by law enforcement that describes an armed person who has used deadly physical force on persons and continues to do so while having unrestricted access to additional victims. The school shooting at Columbine and similar incidents have caused a paradigm-shift in law enforcement training and tactics. Instead of being taught to wait for a SWAT team to arrive, officers receive training on how to take immediate action during incidents that clearly involve suspects’ use of deadly force.

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