How Realistic Should Active Shooter Drills Be?

A major part of school security is preparedness for the unthinkable. Active shooter drills are one way to prepare students, teachers, and administrators for an event.

But law enforcement and school districts continue to struggle with the question of how realistic should these drills be. In early April, at Snowflake High School in Snowflake, Arizona, the school conducted an unannounced drill.

According to local news station 12News, instead of bell for a drill, a “more serious” bell rang.

School District Superintendent Hollis Merrell described the bell to the station:

"It audibly says, 'This is not a drill,' but it doesn't give any indication as to what may be happening at the school. It's just locked down. This is not a drill. The police are on their way," Merrell said.

The Taylor-Snowflake Police Department approached the school to make the active shooter drill more realistic. It was designed to mimic a real emergency situation.

Because of the approach, students, some staff, and parents were unaware of the drill. Some students assumed the worse and texted parents that there was an active shooter on campus.

Police Chief Robert Martin said the unannounced drill idea came after a previous drill in late 2024 where he felt students were not taking the drill seriously.

Obviously, students should take every drill seriously. But that sometimes doesn’t happen. High schoolers can simply be high schoolers and not understand how important drills are to prepare the school community.

I understand Chief Martin’s frustrations, but the unannounced drill likely took the situation too far.

Communication and trust between everyone are undeniably important parts of school security at any level. While students at Snowflake High School will likely start taking drills more seriously, why dent those bonds between the school, community at large, and law enforcement? There are better ways to make the point.

This article originally appeared in the May / June 2025 issue of Campus Security Today.

About the Author

Brent Dirks is senior editor for Security Today and Campus Security Today magazines.

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