[CM] [JHA] [E3] [PB] [2] [C4] During Crisis Steps: Crisis Management Playbook to Manage Lone Wolf / Intruder Attack for Jamiyah Home for the Aged

Introduction

When an intruder is inside Jamiyah Home for the Aged (JHA), every minute counts. The first moments decide whether people are protected, whether help arrives quickly and whether the incident ends without harm.

This chapter gives the During Crisis steps. It restates the principles that guide the response, sets out the phases and time targets, provides the list of 15 actions, the communication cadence, the decision log and situation report formats, the notification duties, and the stand-down criteria. Chapter 5 breaks each action down in detail. All roles, thresholds, time targets, and contacts in this chapter are illustrative and must be validated by JHA before the playbook is adopted.

Principles for the response

Four principles guide the response. They come from the two key considerations in Chapter 1 and from the national Run, Hide, Tell advice.

1. Protect life first. People matter more than property, records or reputation.
2. Call for help at once. Dial 999, send a message by Short Message Service (SMS) to 70999 or use the SGSecure app, and give the address, what is happening and where the person is. Any staff member may do this without approval.
3. Do not provoke the intruder. Do not confront, block, argue with or try to disarm the person. If contact cannot be avoided, stay calm and speak slowly and quietly.
4. Hide and shelter before running. Run, Hide, Tell is written for people who can move freely. Many residents cannot, so the Home's default is to move people into locked, quiet shelter zones and to run only where the route is clearly safe.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) take charge of the incident when they arrive. The Home's task is to protect people, support the responders, care for residents and keep records.

Phases and time targets

The response has 5 phases, introduced in Chapter 1. The time targets are illustrative and are to be tested in drills.

• Detect and alert (0 to 5 minutes): Notice the threat, raise the alarm quietly, call the Police and start protecting people.
• Activate and assess (5 to 30 minutes): Activate the Crisis Management Team (CMT), open the command centre, brief responders, give first aid and notify leadership and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
• Respond and contain (30 minutes to 4 hours): Communicate carefully, support the Police operation and restore care to residents.
• Stabilise (4 to 72 hours): Preserve evidence, assess data impact, support staff and restore safe operations.
• Stand down (criteria-based, from 72 hours): Confirm that the threat has ended and hand over to recovery.

The first five minutes are the most important. Training focuses on them so the first person to notice a threat knows exactly what to do.

During Crisis action list

Table CMP-D1 lists the 15 actions in the order in which they normally fall due. Several run in parallel, because different CMT members are responsible for different actions.

Table CMP-D1: During Crisis action list

Communication cadence

Communication is both necessary and risky. Silence leaves families frightened and invites rumour, but careless messages can endanger people. All outgoing messages are cleared with the Police and approved by the Crisis Management Team Leader. Table CMP-D2 sets the illustrative cadence.

Table CMP-D2: Communication cadence during a crisis (illustrative)

Staff should not post on social media or share images, and they should refer all media questions to the Communications Lead. Families are asked, kindly, not to come to the Home until the Police permit, because a crowd can hamper the response.

Decision log and situation reports

The Crisis Coordinator keeps a decision log from the moment the CMT is activated. Each entry has the time, the decision or instruction, who made it, who received it and the reason. The log helps the CMT keep track, supports the Police and regulators and is the main source for later review.

The Crisis Coordinator also issues short situation reports to the CMT and the Managing Agent. Table CMP-D3 shows the format.

Table CMP-D3: Situation report template

Who leads each phase

Command stays with the Crisis Management Team Leader throughout, but the lead role shifts as the situation develops. Table CMP-D4 shows the main lead roles and outputs in each phase.

Table CMP-D4: Lead roles and key outputs by phase

Working with the Police and SCDF

The Police and SCDF are the experts in dealing with violent incidents and medical emergencies. The Home's job is to make their work easier. One person, chosen in advance, meets them at the cordon with the floor plan, key list, and headcount. That person answers their questions and relays their instructions, and nobody else gives instructions to the responders.

The Home does not decide when it is safe to leave shelter or reopen an area. Officers decide, and the Home follows. Where the Police ask the Home to keep residents in place for a long time, the Resident Care Lead arranges water, toileting, medication and reassurance within the shelter zones, in line with the Police's directions.

If the Police ask for closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, access to records or statements from staff, the Legal and Compliance Lead handles the request and keeps a log. Staff who witnessed events are not asked to write long accounts while they are shaken, but are asked to jot down simple notes of what they saw and when, so that their memory is preserved.

Regulatory and legal notifications

The Legal and Compliance Lead tracks the notifications. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is called early, and the written report follows within the time set by the Home's licence conditions and Codes of Practice. This timeframe must be confirmed, as the rules for social residential homes are changing.

If personal data was exposed, for example, if the intruder reached resident files or records, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) applies. An organisation must notify the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) as soon as practicable and no later than three calendar days after it determines that the breach is notifiable, and it must also notify affected individuals where the law requires. The Home begins this assessment within the first eight hours.

People welfare, escalation and de-escalation

Residents, staff and visitors who sheltered together are all affected. The Resident Care Lead looks after residents' health and comfort, and the HR and Staff Welfare Lead looks after staff. Both check for shock, which can appear later.

The Crisis Management Team Leader may escalate from Level 2 to Level 3 when a weapon is seen, a person is hurt, or a threat is made. De-escalation is considered only when the Police confirm the threat has ended, and the decision is logged.

Stand-down criteria

The crisis is stood down only when all of the following conditions are met.

• The Police have confirmed that there is no continuing threat and have released the premises or the areas the Home needs.
• All residents, staff and visitors are accounted for, and injured people have been treated or handed to SCDF.
• Residents are settled, with medication, meals and comfort restored.
• Families, the Managing Agent and MSF have been updated.
• Evidence and records have been secured.
• The Crisis Management Team Leader has recorded the decision to stand down.

Conclusion

The During Crisis steps rest on two ideas: call for help immediately, and do not provoke the intruder. Everything else supports those ideas by protecting people, keeping order and keeping records.

Chapter 5 now explains each of the 15 actions in detail, with purpose, steps and common mistakes.

To build these skills for your own organisation, explore the programmes at https://blog.bcm-institute.org/certification.