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Holiday season sparks season of heightened awareness for police

‘Tis the season for holiday shopping, eggnog and decorations. But for many first responders, one local expert says, it is also the season for increased ca...

'Tis the season for holiday shopping, eggnog and decorations.

But for many first responders, one local expert says, it is also the season for increased calls.

Among the snowmen, Santa hats and Christmas tree that adorn Ryan Morris' office, is tactical gear, weapons and bomb-defusing teaching devices. Morris is the CEO of Tripwire Operations Group in Gettysburg that specializes in training first responders including more than 4,000 police departments in addition to the FBI and the military.

"Being a veteran of law enforcement for 25 years, usually this time of year, your call volume went up significantly," said Morris. He added, "You have domestics this time of year because of, you know, you get families together. They don't always mesh well. Or, there's money issues or alcohol's involved," said Morris.

Morris said his job is to prepare first responders for anything. That preparation includes helping first responders prepare for incidents which they may not know exactly what type of situation they are heading into.

When FOX43 asked Morris how he prepares police to walk into a situation such as the shooting that occurred at the Regal Cinemas in West Manchester Township, he said "in any situation, police are going to treat it as an active shooter situation and they're going to go in and neutralize the threat as soon as possible."

Morris adds, there are heightened issues now which require more training, including incidents involving religious concerns. But, he recognizes many establishments have restraints on security, including the presence of metal detectors.

"Going through airport security, it's pretty cumbersome. Right? So, imagine doing that at a mall or even a movie theater," said Morris.

Morris reminds everyone to use the well-known philosophy: see something say something. He said, the average person just needs to stay vigilant and report suspicious behavior to security or police.

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