The University of Michigan will begin offering optional active attacker training to students, faculty, staff and community members through a program called “Capable Guardian: Instruct, Evacuate, Shelter, Defend.” The training is provided through the safety and security company Threat Suppression Incorporated and will be implemented by the Division of Public Safety and Security.

Melissa Overton, deputy chief of police and public information officer, said Capable Guardian does not yet have an estimated start date. She said the program will work to address the “in-between” area that often occurs as a result of active attacker protocol.

“What we do, or what we’re going to begin doing, is that in-between — what is the role of the staff member at the University, with a classroom of staff?” Overton said. “We started with the areas of concern based on experience and educating the community that require attention.”

The program will primarily focus on one’s position in an active attacker situation, Overton said. DPSS will also include a new module in the program that focuses specifically on the safety of people with disabilities in the event of an active attacker. This area does not currently exist in the Capable Guardian program.

Capable Guardian participants will learn about crisis theories that help explain how crisis events follow similar and predictable paths. The program will also include active attacker training and focus on the participant’s role in a situation as a capable guardian.

According to Overton, students, staff, faculty and community members will be able to sign up for the program through the DPSS website. A community outreach officer will then make contact with the interested individual and set up the training. Overton said she believes offering Capable Guardian is moving the University in the right direction.