As part of its commitment to safety, controlling costs and managing risk, the Town of Rochester was awarded a $5,000 grant to enhance security at the Rochester Memorial School. Rochester received the grant from the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA), which provides property and casualty insurance to the town.
Rochester will use the grant funds to help local police and school personnel implement a crucial improvement for school security protocols called the “Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Confront and Evacuate” (A.L.I.C.E) Program – which will serve as the standard operating procedure for emergency situations in case of an intruder or safety threat. This exceeds the traditional bare minimum safety protocol called the “Lock Down” method which has been proven to be inadequate. The grant will also allow for upgrades to video surveillance technology. A local school safety committee has already begun working with two neighboring towns, Marion and Mattapoisett, to adopt the A.L.I.C.E. program cooperatively so that the Tri-Town area will have coordinated training and emergency response procedures in place.
“The MIIA grant funds were vital to our efforts of improving school safety and implementing ALICE,” said Rochester Police Chief Paul Magee. “We were able to purchase video equipment that will assist the school, police, and other first responders dealing with emergencies that could arise at the school.”
MIIA awards loss control and risk management grants to its member municipalities to fund equipment purchases and implement training programs that address safety, risk management and loss prevention issues. These proactive efforts help protect the town, its employees and citizens by avoiding accidents and potentially costly claims.