Conference Proceeding

The Situation Picture in a Hybrid Environment: Case Study of two School Shootings in Finland

Norri-Sederholm, Teija, Paakkonen, Heikki, Huhtinen, Aki-Mauri

2016

Overview

School shootings are demanding operations for the police, emergency medical services, rescue services, and the Emergency Response Centre. Obtaining a realistic situation picture while the operation is still ongoing, and the perpetrator has yet to be apprehended, is crucial in organising the rescue operation and in minimising further violence. During a shooting incident, the amount of information from different sources can be excessive and there are instances of information overload. The students and staff inside the school and the Emergency Response Centre have valuable information about what is happening inside the building. Police make observations continuously, while searching for the perpetrator(s) and rescuing people. Paramedics and rescue services receive information as to what has happened from those already rescued. It is by no means a straightforward process to collect and collate all the cues and crucial information obtained from the different authorities during the mission, so as to form a common operational picture and to support the development of team situational awareness. However, adequate information management is regarded as a critical success factor in overcoming the challenges of information-sharing during multi-authority missions. Achieving a common operational picture involves taking account of each authority's needs and constraints, thereby enabling the exchange of relevant information between key authorities on-scene and off-scene. According to the literature, sense-making issues between actors with different institutional backgrounds lead to inter-organisational coordination problems. To date, there have been two school shootings in Finland, with a total of 20 fatalities. The incidents occurred in a high school and a polytechnic institution respectively. In this paper, we develop a case study based on official reports and interviews vis-à-vis the two shootings. First, we aim to describe the main elements of information flow during the two incidents in Finland. Next, we analyse the challenges entailed in forming the situation picture on-scene and off-scene in a hybrid environment. Lastly, we discuss the actions implemented to improve information-sharing and the development of the co-operation between the police, the emergency medical services, the rescue services, and the Emergency Response Centre. The latest technology now in use and the role of social media will also be discussed.

• Publisher: Academic Conferences International Limited
• Subject: Authority / Case studies / Communication / Cooperation / Coordination / Cues / Decision making / Emergency services / Evacuations & rescues / Gun violence / Health services / Information dissemination / Information management / Information overload / Information services / Information sharing / Mass media effects / Paramedics / Police / Rescue services / School violence / Schools / Secondary schools / Shooting / Shootings / Social media