Lockout
Barton Dunant defines a Lockout very differently from a Lockdown. While those words sound somewhat similar, they have very different meanings when it comes to a no-notice (or little notice) incident, including an active assailant attack.
Lockouts mean not one comes in a building and no one goes out. If a campus of multiple buildings is on lockout, it means every building is locked out – and if you are inside the campus you should stay in the building you are in; and if you are outside of the campus you will not be able to (nor should you try) to get inside the campus. A lockout is a stricker set of rules and protocols than a shelter-in-place order, but it is a form of sheltering-in-place, as compared to evacuating.
A Lockdown should be different from a Lockout. A Lockout is ordered when the threat (such as an Active Assailant) is near your location, but not (yet!) a direct threat to you or others in your building or on your campus. When a building or a school goes on Lockout, it should mean that the threat is not on campus and no one goes in and no one comes out (except emergency services). Lockouts can become Lockdowns, when the threat does move to your building.
Barton Dunant
Lockouts should also mean that the ‘business as usual within a building should change. People need to be informed that the building is in lockout, and why. If there is any timeframe for the lockout, let them know that as well, too. People must be informed when the lockout is ‘over’ and normal operations have resumed. This is true for all the people in the building and your staff who may be away from the building. Here’s one difference between a shelter-in-place order and lockout: if you are outside of a building when it goes into lockout, they should not let you in. If the people in a building are just sheltering-in-place – for severe weather warnings, for example – they should let you in the building, since it is safer for you to be inside than outside. In a lockout, the people inside of the building do not know if or who the threat is, coming to them. They need to become aware of and prepared if things get worse.
Lockdown should be different from a Lockout. A Lockout is when the Active Assailant is near your location, but not (yet!) a direct threat to you. When a building or a school goes on Lockout, it should mean that the threat is not on campus and no one goes in and no one comes out (except emergency services). Lockouts can become Lockdowns, when the threat does move to your building
Here’s a real life example of how this can play out:
