Lockdown - Examples

Examples

In the wake of the September 11 attacks (2001), a three-day lockdown of American airspace was initiated to prevent any remaining perpetrators from escaping.

In December 2005, the New South Wales Police Service initiated a lockdown of the Sutherland Shire and other beach areas of New South Wales to contain race rioting (and retaliative strikes). The New South Wales Labor government, in an emergency sitting of parliament, passed an array of amendments to legislation giving the New South Wales Police Service additional powers to 'lock down' targeted areas and roads within New South Wales. The legislation introduced to deal with the 2005 Cronulla riots was the Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Act 2005 (NSW). The Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Act 2005 (NSW) amended four separate pieces of legislation:

• Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
• Bail Act 1978 (NSW)
• Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
• Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)

Under their new powers, the New South Wales Police Service locked down targeted areas and roads at Cronulla, Bondi, Coogee, Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands to prevent persons of Middle Eastern appearance from committing reprisal attacks and prevent white supremacist agitatorsfrom further violence.

An example of a campus/school lockdown was demonstrated at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on January 30, 2008, when an unknown threat was made and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) issued a lockdown on one of the buildings on campus for six hours, cordoning off the area, and a campus alert was sent via email to everyone affiliated with UBC while students and faculties were to remain locked in the building.

On April 10, 2008, two Canadian secondary schools were locked down due to suspected firearm threats. George S. Henry Academy was locked down in Toronto, Ontario at approximately 2:00 p.m. The Emergency Task Force (TPS) were contacted and the lockdown lasted for more than two hours. New Westminster Secondary School was locked down in New Westminster, British Columbia at approximately 1:40 p.m. The Emergency Response Team (ERT) were called and the school was under lockdown until 4:30 p.m. Due to the size of the school, some students were not able to leave until 7:00 p.m.

Another example of a lockdown would be an air raid emergency. During the 1940's and 1950's, neighborhoods such as Detroit, MI would practice a blackout. During this time, the city's Civil Defense workers would immediately activate the neighborhood air raid siren, and families would be required to do the following in order: 1. Shut off all appliances, such as stoves, ovens, furnaces; 2. Shut off valves for water and natural gas or propane, as well as disconnect electricity; 3. Close blackout curtains (plain black curtains that would block light from coming in or going out). Unlike an atomic bomb, where white curtains are used to reflect the blast, black curtains were used to prevent any airborne enemies from seeing in windows; 4. Get to a public shelter, a bomb or fallout shelter, or the household basement, and stay there until the local police dismissed the blackout. Although no longer practiced, air raid drills are still used by a small portion of people who would protect against any enemies. These blackout incidents would begin at 3:00 PM and usually end around 3:30 PM.