1. What
is the link to Crisis Management?
St. Patrick’s day, there was a
riot that started at a local subdivision where many local students live from
Fanshawe College. This is the largest riot in Southwestern Ontario’s city
history. When policemen tried to control the festivities, revelers fought back
smashing cruisers causing officers to retreat from the scene. A CTV vehicle
that was overturned which resulted one woman to have burns from the exploding
fuel tank. As a result of this, local residents don’t feel safe in the area.
2. What
stage of Crisis Management does the system appear to be at?
The system seems to be at the
issues stage for the local police in the area and for the Fanshawe president
Howard Rundle. They are coming up with ideas to mitigate the risk of this
happening again and are taking the necessary action against those students that
were arrested.
For the students who have been
arrested and suspended pending the outcome of their cases and local residents
that live in the area, this is at a risk stage. The students who are suspended
are at risk of being suspended completely from Fanshawe College, and further
are at risk of having a criminal record depending on the outcome of their
cases. For the residents, local safety is an issue. One lady who lived in the
area expressed that she spent much of the riot in her basement with her 6
children and is no looking for a new home. Other residents will also have the
same concerns for their safety and the safety of their children.
3. How
well does the system appear to be handling the situation?
The system seems to handling the
situation appropriately. City Councilor is looking to potentially have a
satellite police station near Fleming drive to keep future parties under
control. Fanshawe president is looking to craft bylaws to limit the number of
students that live in that area. Further, corrective action is being taken
against those who were arrested at the scene.
4. What
level of crisis preparedness does the system appear to have?
The system handled the situation
poorly. Since ‘parties are a staple of the street’ and have led to brawls and
arrests in the past, the city and local police should have been prepared for a
riot of this scale. Especially since there was the riot in BC as well as the
riot at Queens University a few years back, this situation is definitely a
probable scenario. Even though police tried to control the festivities the
crowd fought back and things got worse when officers retreated. They flipped a
car, which then exploded, and it wasn’t before dawn police moved in and ended
the party.
5. What
personal reactions/feelings does the description trigger in you?
I was initially confused whether
this happened in London England, and when I knew it was in London I
automatically assumed it was Western University and therefore I was surprised
when I learned that it was Fanshawe college. Having been an undergraduate
student myself, and attending events like homecoming at Queen’s, riots as such
happen spontaneously and police have often angered and provoked students even
more. This situation comes to me as no
surprise as result.
6. What
advice would you offer to those involved?
I would suggest that they have a
plan in place before the party has started before letting it get out of
control. Further, clearly those that attended the street party did not respect
and disregarded the force of police. Unfortunately when dealing with students
who are under the influence, sometimes you need to set an example of the kind
of force you will need to take to ensure people understand who is control- in
this situation because police power was not big enough initially, the students
realized quickly they had the power and abused the situation.
My advice to students would be
similar to those in the article- with the prevalence of smart phones with
ability to take videos and photos that can be uploaded instantly and sent
virally, I would caution them to be smart when drinking. I do agree that images can be taken out of
context, especially for those who are at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Therefore, it is really important to ensure that when things get out of hand,
you live the premises.
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