[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 708

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

1. 1366:  British Group Study Exchange team prepared for any emergency 
 
Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:03 pm (PST) 



British Group Study Exchange team prepared for any emergency

By Maureen Vaught
Rotary International News

"We all have the same goal: to make the world a better and safer 
place for everyone," says disaster management student David Cowley of 
the work performed by emergency service personnel around the world.

To help reach this objective, Cowley and four emergency management 
professionals from England travelled as a Group Study Exchange team to 
Chicago to learn how other cities prepare for and respond to crises. 
The so-called UK2USA exchange marked the second half of the GSE 
between RI districts 1280 (part of England; Isle of Man) and 6440 
(Illinois, USA). 

During their monthlong visit in April, the GSE team, led by Phil 
Jones of the Rotary Club of Bolton Daybreak, toured police stations, 
fire departments, and hospital emergency rooms. They accompanied 
police units on patrols, attended a canine narcotics training 
session, and observed a high school lifesaving demonstration.

"I now have ideas that I can implement as soon as I get home, new 
ways of doing things that will show a direct improvement on the 
quality of service we provide," said Nadia Brew, a lieutenant with 
the Cheshire police force. Among those ideas is implementing a 
community policing program similar to the one in Chicago. 

"We were impressed by the dedication and commitment of [U.S.] 
volunteers," Brew said upon her return home. "Whether they're fire 
fighters, first responders, or high school students, they genuinely 
want to play a part in ensuring their communities are safe places to 
live and work."

Based on her GSE experience, Brew is developing a plan that includes 
implementing street briefings of police officers, improving the 
quality of community meetings and training for community officers, 
and developing a culture of volunteers.

As with all GSEs, information sharing goes both ways. Roger Carter, 
principal emergency planning officer for the City of Leeds, explained 
to his U.S. counterparts how British responders use technology, 
particularly cell phones and text messaging, to communicate as an 
event unfolds. The approach is less common in the United States, but 
the UK team is helping to change that.

"They're just on the brink of exploring these technologies, so we've 
been able to pass on a lot of shared information in relation to 
that," Carter said.

While in the Chicago area, team members met up with their 
counterparts from District 6440. The U.S. group traveled to England 
in October 2006, led by Dennis Anderson of the Rotary Club of Batavia.

"It was interesting to discover that they're actually implementing 
some of the ideas [they] learned during their trip to England," said 
Cowley, who noted the growing number of local police departments 
using closed-circuit television to monitor high-crime areas.

To prove that communication between the two countries won't end with 
the GSE, the team displayed the handfuls of business cards they'd 
received during their visit.

"One month is just a drop in the ocean," Carter says. "There's a lot 
of learning that will come over the years as a result of this 
experience."

Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary
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