Emergency alerts: imperfect but necessary, expert says

Emergency alerts like the one that went out in the Lower Mainland Monday are imperfect but necessary, according to an emergency communications expert.

Jeannette Sutton with the State University of New York in Albany tells CityNews this kind of communication is much more complex than people might realize, and decisions of what geographic area to send an alert to and what exactly it should say are made very quickly.

“We need to become better, as people who create these kinds of messages, we need to become better at writing them, practicing writing ahead of time and determining the info that’s most necessary to help people know what they’re supposed to do,” she explained.

Related Articles:

• Emotions overflow at Langley vigil for shooting victims

• ‘Right reason to initiate warning,’ Langley City Mayor says of shooter alert

• Three dead, including suspect, after Langley shootings

The emergency alert message, first sent at 6:18 a.m. on Monday after a string of shootings in Langley, has come under fire from some members of the community who say it wasn’t sent at the right time, or was sent out to the wrong people.

Some were frustrated as they received the message as far away as Victoria.

Sutton admits all the marks aren’t always hit perfectly.

“They’re making these decisions very, very quickly and putting together the messages very quickly, and unfortunately sometimes it spills over into other areas — sometimes it gives people information that is not really actionable.”

Evidence shows that imminent danger alerts can and do save lives, Sutton says, but they are a work in progress, with many challenges.

“They have to err on the side of giving people more information than less, because protecting people’s lives has to be a top priority,” she said. “So if they’ve made the decision [that] this is truly a risk to a lot of people, then the message goes out.”

The province has since confirmed the RCMP issued the alert, and a full review of the process will be done.