Willaston School

[Gladys]

So, what is the ongoing incident?  As usual, a news blackout by the police.  If it was the UK, there would be news teams at the scenes and the nature of the incident would be known.  Here, there is a news blackout and in a couple of week's time there will be an appeal for witnesses.

Glad that all staff and children are safe, however. 

[x-in-man]

News Blackout?   

FFS - let ‘em get on with what they need to do.  
 

Instant news junkie.

[Gladys]

No, just wishing there was more openness.  As I said, the UK police seem able to manage dealing with an incident and the press.  

Here, it seems that the first response is to keep a lid on information.  

It shouldn't and needn't be that way. 

[Shake me up Judy]

It's got worse if anything Gladys. You won't see the new House addressing it either. The Police are totally unaccountable. Hope you voted last week...😉

[Danoo]

53 minutes ago, Gladys said:

So, what is the ongoing incident?  As usual, a news blackout by the police.  If it was the UK, there would be news teams at the scenes and the nature of the incident would be known.  Here, there is a news blackout and in a couple of week's time there will be an appeal for witnesses.

Glad that all staff and children are safe, however. 

Check Facebook. If it's not on there it's not worth knowing.

[Gladys]

40 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said:

It's got worse if anything Gladys. You won't see the new House addressing it either. The Police are totally unaccountable. Hope you voted last week...😉

I most certainly did, and my favoured candidate got in. 

[immortalpuppet]

Credible threat of violence 

Viable device found 

Body

More than plain curiosity as one of my kids attends the school. Staff were great at the evacuation and keeping kids calm etc but still no idea what was involved.

[Roger Mexico]

I reckon they found a shredded letter.

[Gladys]

1 hour ago, Shake me up Judy said:

It's got worse if anything Gladys. You won't see the new House addressing it either. The Police are totally unaccountable. Hope you voted last week...😉

See the Mountain Watch thread for more examples.

Data protection was used extensively during Covid measures as a fig leaf to withhold information.  

It is more than idle curiosity, it is part of the "social contract" that Government and its agencies are open and forthcoming with information.  I can understand if release of information will jeopardise an investigation, arrest and subsequent conviction.  The police often ask that speculation on social media is avoided, but the best way to avoid speculation is to give accurate and timely information. 

The lack of information, particularly police activity, bothers me.  Another is how some relatively high profile court cases just seem to be adjourned then quietly disappear.  

[Derek Flint]

Most likely an issue involving something explosive or toxic judging by the evacuation and cordon.

This should have been a very simple matter to update in consultation with the Dept of Education. One of the downsides is that there's no dedicated PR support but it's left to trained cops and it depends on whether or not (a) there is one on and (b) they have the confidence to get the info out there.

Only other reason to withhold is if it is part of a criminal investigation and to release info would undermine the investigative strategy.

[The Voice of Reason]

7 minutes ago, Gladys said:

See the Mountain Watch thread for more examples.

Data protection was used extensively during Covid measures as a fig leaf to withhold information.  

It is more than idle curiosity, it is part of the "social contract" that Government and its agencies are open and forthcoming with information.  I can understand if release of information will jeopardise an investigation, arrest and subsequent conviction.  The police often ask that speculation on social media is avoided, but the best way to avoid speculation is to give accurate and timely information. 

The lack of information, particularly police activity, bothers me.  Another is how some relatively high profile court cases just seem to be adjourned then quietly disappear.  

I must confess to being a little surprised by your comments Gladys.

Despite our differences on many matters I did not have you down as a curtain twitcher/ rubbernecker.

Its only been a few hours since whatever it is occurred at the school. We have been informed that staff and pupils are safe, which surely is the main concern.

We don’t need to know at this time. Perhaps the police themselves don’t yet know the full story. You surely don’t want them to indulge in idle speculation. 
 

It’s not part of the social contract that the police release information prematurely. They will be more concerned with investigating what has happened rather than trying to satisfy the public frenzy for skeet.

 

[Gladys]

2 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

I must confess to being a little surprised by your comments Gladys.

Despite our differences on many matters I did not have you down as a curtain twitcher/ rubbernecker.

Its only been a few hours since whatever it is occurred at the school. We have been informed that staff and pupils are safe, which surely is the main concern.

We don’t need to know at this time. Perhaps the police themselves don’t yet know the full story. You surely don’t want them to indulge in idle speculation. 
 

It’s not part of the social contract that the police release information prematurely. They will be more concerned with investigating what has happened rather than trying to satisfy the public frenzy for skeet.

 

No curtain twitching, just timely information.  As I have said, they can manage it in the UK, but not here. 

To evacuate a primary school with no information as to why has to be a concern, does it not? 

 

[The Voice of Reason]

6 minutes ago, Gladys said:

No curtain twitching, just timely information.  As I have said, they can manage it in the UK, but not here. 

To evacuate a primary school with no information as to why has to be a concern, does it not? 

 

What would be a concern is if there had not been a successful evacuation.

The rest can wait. 
 

As I said it’s only been a few hours.

I am not sure that your comparison with the UK would stand scrutiny 

Edited September 28, 2021 by The Voice of Reason

[HeliX]

"At 3pm this afternoon Willaston School, received a call amounting to a bomb threat. It was the priority of the school to ensure the safety of the children and as such they commenced their evacuation process and called the police. Within minutes Police arrived at the school and assisted in ensuring the children and staff were safe, also taking into account that parents were arriving to collect their children. Parents were diverted to the place of safety, designated in this instance as the Isle of Man College. Safety cordons and road closures where put in place around the school whilst Police determined the threat and made various enquiries.

It is difficult with a live situation such as this to get information out to the public whilst balancing the need to protect them, the parents and more importantly the children whilst establishing the level of risk, the correct information and latterly protecting the subsequent investigation process, all within a very short period of time. Police and school staff made every effort to release initial information to parents as a priority. It is appreciated that it can be very frustrating for the public and the parents of children attending the school not having the fullest of information but for reasons explained, not all of the details can be released.

The events of this afternoon are now believed to have been a hoax causing a great deal of disruption to not only the school but also the wider public. Police are working with the Department of Education and are investigating the matter fully, they will update the public further with the information that they can release when they can release it. Police would like to thank the local residents, the affected members of the public and the parents for their understanding and would like to re-iterate that above all else their first priority is to protect life and now a full investigation will follow."

[The Voice of Reason]

2 minutes ago, HeliX said:

"At 3pm this afternoon Willaston School, received a call amounting to a bomb threat. It was the priority of the school to ensure the safety of the children and as such they commenced their evacuation process and called the police. Within minutes Police arrived at the school and assisted in ensuring the children and staff were safe, also taking into account that parents were arriving to collect their children. Parents were diverted to the place of safety, designated in this instance as the Isle of Man College. Safety cordons and road closures where put in place around the school whilst Police determined the threat and made various enquiries.

It is difficult with a live situation such as this to get information out to the public whilst balancing the need to protect them, the parents and more importantly the children whilst establishing the level of risk, the correct information and latterly protecting the subsequent investigation process, all within a very short period of time. Police and school staff made every effort to release initial information to parents as a priority. It is appreciated that it can be very frustrating for the public and the parents of children attending the school not having the fullest of information but for reasons explained, not all of the details can be released.

The events of this afternoon are now believed to have been a hoax causing a great deal of disruption to not only the school but also the wider public. Police are working with the Department of Education and are investigating the matter fully, they will update the public further with the information that they can release when they can release it. Police would like to thank the local residents, the affected members of the public and the parents for their understanding and would like to re-iterate that above all else their first priority is to protect life and now a full investigation will follow."

Thanks for that