Communicating during a major incident cipr

Taking the drama out of a crisis

Tips on planning for the unexpected

CIPR (Gloucestershire)

Taking the drama out of a crisis 8th December 2015

Welcome!This evening:6.05pm – Welcome – Nina Bartlett, CIPR6.10pm – Housekeeping (fire alarms etc) and scene setting – Hilary Allison6.15pm – Managing the media (Gloucestershire case study) – Caroline Rawlinson6.35pm – Making your communities resilient (Somerset case study) – Julie Jupe7.05pm – Gloucestershire Prepared (Local Resilience Forum) – Chris Jackson & Hilary Allison7.20pm – It’s all in the preparation (top tips) – Hilary Allison7.45pm – Question Time (with speakers)8pm – Discussion – When is a product recall the right course of action? (All)8.20pm – Sum up/close (chance for those interested to visit Force Control Room - 30 mins max).


Welcome!


Managing the mediaA Gloucestershire case study

Caroline Rawlinson, Vivid PR

What is a crisis?

an ‘abnormal and unstable situation that threatens the organisation’s strategic objectives, reputation or viability’

It’s not what it is, it’s what you do with it…

A crisis is defined not necessarily by what has happened but where it could go next

Why the media matters in a crisis

Thomas Cook

Why the media matters in a crisisMerlin Entertainments - Alton Towers

Or should it be successfully feed?

• Traditional media is on 24/7 via websites and their own social media output

• We’re all the media through Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Blogs, You Tube etc.

• In Gloucestershire alone there are around 350,000 people on Facebook and Twitter all sharing news

• Makes the traditional media list look quite manageable

How do you manage the media?

• Gloucestershire Echo & Citizen, The Forester, Stroud News & Journal, Dursley Gazette, etc

• South West Business (Local World online)• BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Heart FM etc• BBC TV West, ITV West etc• Cotswold Life, GL Magazine, etc• Punchline, G First Newsletter etc.• So Glos

Gloucestershire’s local & regional media

Media - online & offline

Dowty Propellers, Staverton

February 4th 2015

February 5th 2015

February 6th 2015

Who is affected and hungry for information?

• Employees • Customers• Suppliers• Local community• Trade Unions• Business organisations• Aerospace community

Most urgent questions…

…are there any fatalities, any injuries, how serious, how many, what are they and to whom. What caused the fire, who or what is to blame, how’s the business affected and how are you putting things right.

Prepare statements & organise

First point of contact

Liaise with team internally

Dowty Propellers learned that you need a dedicated and expert team to work with the media

Think long term

Be very quick to say something

Issue regular updates and ‘boss’ the time

Be confident, proactive and professional:

Pictures, video, images

Think ambassadors, partners etc

Use best communicator in the business

Other considerations to make a difference:

Plan, practice and evaluate

Never, ever no comment

Monitor what’s being said. Don’t be afraid to challenge

What’s next for Dowty Propellers?

Thank you!

Welcome!


Making your communities resilientA Somerset case study

Julie Jupe, University of Bristol

213 May 2023

A&S LRF

Our Plan

Media & Social Media

Community resilience

Key learning

What next

Welcome!


Working together in GloucestershireRole of the Local Resilience Forum

Hilary Allison & Chris JacksonGloucestershire Constabulary

In Gloucestershire …

• Local Resilience Forum (LRF)• Strategic Group and sub groups• County-wide Strategic Group chaired by Deputy Chief

Constable Rod Hansen• Principle mechanism for multi-agency co-operation

under Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004• www.glosprepared.co.uk• @glosprepared

http://www.glosprepared.co.uk/

What is the LRF?

‘To co-ordinate effective and efficient integrated emergency management arrangements within the County of Gloucestershire and to meet the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004’.

Our plans…

• The Local Resilience Forum (LRF) Warning and Informing Group (Communications Group)

• The LRF Plan

The Communications sub-group…

• Gloucestershire Police• Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue• Gloucestershire County Council• All local councils• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS

Found Trust• South West Ambulance Service

NHS Found Trust• Public Health England• Environment Agency• Highways England

• Water companies• Magnox• Gloucestershire Airport

• Local media – BBC, Citizen & Echo

Our objectives

• Providing public safety information • Providing timely, accurate and appropriate

information to the public (including media)• Quick response to inaccurate reporting,

speculation and undue criticism *especially in light of citizen journalism and social media

• Assisting any investigation – using appeals for information and evidence

Our process

• Police - lead agency for communication• Aim to issue initial holding statement to

media and public within 20 minutes• Pre-planned safety statements issued by

police and partners via media/social media• News releases issued and conferences

arranged following Strategic Coordinating Group meetings

Communications roles

The Gold Comms Officer will work with comms colleagues from police and other agencies and companies to…

• issue information/appeals and arrange news conferences

• identify, brief and prepare media spokespeople from each agency

• monitor media and social media for news, issues, rumours, inaccuracies - respond if needed

• manage media on site and at briefing centre

How we work

• Police lead• Meet quarterly• Discuss upcoming incidents/events• Take part in role play exercises to test comms

response in major incidents• Talks from local media/comms experts• Discuss learning from recent incidents• Update Warning and Informing Plan

Our communications principles

• Accurate, timely and co-ordinated information

• Briefings must be factual – avoid speculation

• Inaccurate reports must be quickly countered

• Clear public safety information reduces panic

• Lead comms should issue holding statements

• Coordination between agencies important

• Internal comms vital - staff must be kept informed

Helicopter crash 2013

How we can help

• Advice and guidance• Warning and Informing Plan• Gloucestershire Prepared website –

www.glosprepared.co.uk - advice for communities, families and businesses

Welcome!


It’s all in the preparation!Top tips for planning for and managing crises

Hilary AllisonGloucestershire Constabulary

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

But …

• 1994 – Cromwell Street murders (Fred & Rose West)• 1996 – Building of Newbury bypass• 1998 – High profile police sexual harassment cases• 1999 – Total eclipse of the sun• 1999/2000 – The Millennium• 2000 – Fuel crisis• 2001 – Foot & mouth disease• 2007 – Tewkesbury ‘back in business’ • 2013 – Pilot badger cull (national comms lead)

In that time…

• Preparation key• “If you think preparation is expensive, try chaos!” (Met

Police)• Many basic ‘rules’ remain:- have a plan, resource it, test it, update it- involve others, including partners- consider stakeholders – including staff- consider channels- work with media- prepare for anything- communicate, communicate, communicate!

Two major changes…

• 24 hour media- increasing appetite for information- increasing communication channels- increasing time and space to fill- technology – information brought to us sooner

• Social media (game changer)- rise of citizen journalism- proliferation of channels – film, video, photos- eye witness accounts- ‘news’ broken on social media- emergence of digital media biggest change crisis

comms management (@hilaryallison 2011)

Opportunities and challenges…

• Opportunities:- warn and inform- reach more people- broadcast film and photos- co-ordinate response and reassure- 24/7 facility- evidence of emerging situation- develop conversation and understanding- early warning system – anticipate issues (monitoring)- brand & reputation management – way major incidents

managed subject of much comment while happening

Opportunities and challenges…

• Challenges:- citizen journalism can lead to inaccuracy- opportunity for others to criticize/hamper efforts- pressure to give information asap (unchecked)- not always practical (if people have not facility)- danger of reputational or brand damage

• Biggest impacts:- ability to escalate major incident- ability speed up process- fragment a strategic communications process

To illustrate that point…

• Three M’s- mayhem – what, where, when, who?- mastermind – history, background- manhunt – fault, error, blame• Epilogue – long-term, trials, inquests, inquiries• Cycle – 20 hours Piper Alpha oil rig disaster (1988);

three hours Clapham junction crash (1988)• Social/digital media = happen together• Eurostar (2009) case study of crisis communications in

social media age as failed to grasp importance in communications approach


• Boston Bombing (2013):- importance of social media as policing tool apparent- within 10 minutes of bombing, Boston Police

Department (BPD) Commissioner Edward Davis told his department to use social media

- misinformation from professional media and social media, quickly corrected by the BPD

- most accurate information was from official BDP Twitter account


• Charlie Hebdo (January 2015) - social media ahead of media and official updates- media filled vacuum - difficult to get overall picture- media too close?

• Paris (November 2015) - news broke on social media- most talked about event in 2015 (Twitter)

Social and digital media …

• Not just broadcast channel – chance for conversation• Must be within communications plan – ‘as well as’ other

methods rather than ‘instead of’• Must be resourced properly• Engagement starts now, not when major incident starts• Explore benefits of variety of channels• Within communications plan, social media platforms

should be linked• Build social management and evaluation into your work

at the start.

Welcome!


Question Time

Led by Nina Bartlett

Welcome!


When is a product recall the right course of action?

Discussion led by Nina Bartlett

Welcome!


Thank You!

Communicating during a major incident cipr

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