Critical Incident Response Kit

The Critical Incident Response Kit (CIRK) helps schools prepare to respond to a crisis. Attorney General Roy Cooper worked to develop the kit, in conjunction with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Center for the Prevention of School Violence and the Department of Public Instruction. Each public school in North Carolina received a booklet and a video that explain how to assemble the kit, along with a container to house the kit. North Carolina's charter schools and 778 private schools in our state also received these materials.

CIRK booklet: Takes school administrators through the necessary steps to assemble the Kit. A completed Kit should include: architectural blueprints for the school; procedures to cut-off fire alarms, utilities, sprinkler systems, and cable television; keys to the school in a separately locked container; information on evacuation routes and safe rally locations; and emergency contact information for students and school personnel. Lowe's Corporation has donated the containers for the Kits.

CIRK video: Also included in the kit is the video "A Critical Incident: What To Do in the First 20 Minutes", which provides a powerful dramatization of a critical incident at a school. In the video, teachers, school administrators and law enforcement officials respond appropriately to a shooting incident at a school. Following the dramatization, the video reviews the incident step-by-step and recommends procedures for responding safely and effectively. Production of the video was made possible by a grant from the Governor's Crime Commission.

Calling for help: Public schools located within the ALLTEL wireless coverage area also received a free wireless telephone as part of their kits. The phones were made available through a settlement reached last year between the Attorney General and the communications company regarding price disclosures. The coverage area includes 78 counties and extends roughly from the foothills to the coast. Phones were also made available to 379 School Resource Officers serving in the same region.

CIRK Training: By the start of the 2002-2003 school year, 657 public schools (link to list) had completed specialized CIRK training sponsored by the Attorney General's Office, the Justice Academy, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Center for the Prevention of School Violence, and Emergency Management.

CIRK Recognition: Schools that have completed their kit and met the recommendations in the CIRK booklet and video will receive a special certificate from Attorney General Cooper and Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Secretary George Sweat. These schools will also be awarded a window decal that identifies them as ready to respond to a critical incident. Click here for a list of schools that have received awards.

Other Resources

For more information, please see also the Center for the Prevention of School Violence's CIRK website at: www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/cirk/cirk.htm.