What Is ALICE Training? Complete Guide for 2026

ALICE training is an options-based active shooter and violent intruder response program built around five actions: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. It teaches people to make their own survival decisions based on what is actually happening, instead of following a single rigid rule. The approach moves away from the old “lockdown and wait” model that kept everyone in place no matter where the threat was.

The program is used in schools, workplaces, hospitals, houses of worship, and government buildings across the country. It is one of the most recognized active shooter response methods in the United States, and also one of the most debated. Safe and Sound Security installs the alert, communication, and lockdown technology that response methods like ALICE depend on, and our K-12 work includes districts such as Azusa Unified School District.

This guide explains what ALICE stands for, where it came from, what the evidence says, what it costs, and how the technology in a building supports each part of the response.

Key Takeaways

• ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. These are five options, not five steps performed in order.
• It is options-based, not lockdown-only. People choose the response that fits their location and the threat, rather than following one fixed rule.
• Counter is a last resort. It means distracting and disrupting an attacker, never “fighting the shooter,” and it is never required of students or other civilians.
• The evidence is mixed. One peer-reviewed study found fewer simulated casualties with multi-option training, but independent researchers question how the program attributes real-world success.
• Instructor certification costs around $749. The two-day course certifies a trainer for three years, and organization-wide training scales with the size of the group.

What Is ALICE Training?

ALICE training is a proactive, options-based program that prepares people to respond to an active shooter or violent intruder by choosing from a set of survival actions. Rather than a single instruction, it gives people a framework for deciding whether to evacuate, barricade, or take other steps based on where they are and where the danger is.

The method was developed by a former law enforcement officer and now operates as a brand under Navigate360, a school and workplace safety company formed through a 2020 merger. The acronym and its options-based framing are documented by independent institutions, including university campus-safety offices such as West Liberty University.

The core idea is a shift away from traditional lockdown-only protocols. Older guidance told everyone to lock a door, turn off the lights, and stay put, even if the threat was on the other side of the building and a safe exit was nearby. ALICE argues that a person who can safely escape should be allowed to escape, and that a single rule cannot fit every situation.

What Does ALICE Stand For? The Five Components

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. Each component is a possible action, and people are trained to use whichever ones fit their circumstances.

• Alert: Recognize the early signs of danger and communicate the threat as fast as possible. Alerts can come through public address announcements, mobile notifications, panic buttons, or direct sensory awareness such as hearing gunfire.
• Lockdown: Secure and barricade a room when leaving is not a safe option. This means locking and blocking entry points, staying out of sight, and buying time.
• Inform: Share real-time, plain-language information about the intruder’s location and movement. Clear updates help others decide whether to evacuate or stay put.
• Counter: As a last resort, disrupt the attacker’s ability to aim and fire by creating noise, movement, and distraction. Counter is not fighting, and it is never required of students or non-law-enforcement staff.
• Evacuate: Move away from the danger to a designated rally point or safe distance as soon as it is safe to do so.

Counter is the most misunderstood component. It does not mean charging an armed attacker. It means making the environment chaotic enough to interrupt an attacker’s focus so people can escape, and the program treats it as a personal choice of last resort.

ALICE Is Not a Sequence: Options, Not a Checklist

ALICE is a list of choices, not an order of operations. The letters do not describe a sequence that people work through from A to E. They describe options people can use in any order, or skip entirely, based on what is happening around them.

In a real event, some people in a building might evacuate through a nearby exit while others lock down because the threat is between them and the door. A school district FAQ on the method puts it plainly: ALICE is not a checklist, it is a set of choices meant to help people stay safe. This flexibility is the central reason the program exists, and it is the point most often lost when people first hear the acronym.

Who Created ALICE Training?

ALICE was created by Greg Crane, a former police officer, and his wife Lisa Crane, an elementary school principal, in the years after the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Crane developed the concept around 2001 after questioning whether the lockdown-only advice his wife’s school had been given would actually keep students safe, as detailed in an investigation by The Trace.

Burleson Independent School District in Texas became the first district to adopt the approach in 2005. The program became a brand under Navigate360 following that 2020 merger. Navigate360, ALICE’s parent company, says it has certified more than 18,000 instructors over a two-decade history, a figure reported by the vendor.

ALICE vs. Run-Hide-Fight

ALICE and Run-Hide-Fight share the same core logic: give people more than one option and let circumstances guide the response. Run-Hide-Fight is the federal model promoted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI. ALICE covers the same survival actions and adds two communication steps on top.

The practical difference is emphasis. Run-Hide-Fight is a short, three-word public message. ALICE expands it into a fuller training program and puts more weight on how a threat is detected and communicated in the first place, which is where Alert and Inform come in.

Does ALICE Training Work? The Evidence and the Debate

The evidence on ALICE is mixed, and honest preparation means looking at both sides. Supporters point to research showing fewer casualties in simulations. Critics question how the program measures real-world success and warn that poor implementation creates its own risks.

On the supportive side, a 2018 study in the Journal of School Violence found that multi-option response training reduced the share of participants “shot” in simulations by roughly half in classroom settings and by about 58 percent in large open areas such as libraries and hallways, compared with traditional lockdown. The study was co-authored by two university criminologists and a staff member of the ALICE Training Institute, so the favorable finding carries a conflict of interest worth keeping in mind.

On the critical side, independent researchers say the program overstates its real-world record. Dr. Jaclyn Schildkraut, an associate professor of criminal justice at SUNY Oswego who studies lockdown drills, has called the way ALICE labels ordinary survival reactions as proof of its method “a stretch.” An investigation by The Trace reviewed 18 incidents the program cited as training in action and found only one where an ALICE-specific behavior made a clear difference.

Implementation history adds more caution. Burleson ISD, the first adopter, later reversed course on teaching students to attack intruders and sent letters home expressing regret, according to a 2006 Associated Press report cited by a school safety researcher. Liability is also a documented concern: a 2018 report in Security Management Magazine, cited by the same source, noted an insurer paying more than $1 million in medical bills over 22 months for injuries tied to one active shooter training program.

The reasonable takeaway is that training quality and audience matter. Many experts support teaching adults and staff a flexible, options-based response, while urging extreme caution with the Counter component for young children.

How Much Does ALICE Training Cost?

ALICE instructor certification costs around $749 per participant as of June 2026, though pricing varies by provider and location. The certification is a two-day course, and the certificate is valid for three years before it needs to be renewed online. Participants typically complete an introductory eLearning course and quiz before attending the in-person session.

Organization-wide training costs scale with the size of the group and the format chosen, since options include in-person sessions, blended learning, and virtual delivery. A single certified instructor can then train staff internally, which is how most schools and companies roll the program out across a building or campus.

Where ALICE Training Is Used

ALICE training is used in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, corporate workplaces, hospitals, houses of worship, and law enforcement agencies. It is most closely associated with schools, but the same options-based logic applies to any environment where people need to respond to a violent intruder.

Good programs adapt the message to the audience. For younger students, trainers use trauma-informed delivery: advance notice before drills, less dramatic simulations, and discussion afterward so a drill does not become its own source of fear. For workplaces and campuses, training often focuses on staff awareness, communication, and clear evacuation routes. Whether the setting is a school district or a corporate campus, the goal is the same: replace a single frozen response with informed choices. Organizations weighing their options often start with a broader review of their school security measures or campus safety plan before selecting a training model.

The Technology Behind ALICE: Alert, Inform, and Lockdown

ALICE’s Alert, Inform, and Lockdown components only work if a building has the technology to support them. A response plan tells people what to do. The systems installed in the building decide whether they can actually do it in the seconds that matter.

• Alert depends on mass notification and panic alarms. The first component requires a way to broadcast a threat instantly across a building or campus. That is the job of an emergency notification system and panic alarm hardware, including wearable panic buttons staff can press from anywhere. In states with silent panic alarm mandates, this layer is also a legal requirement.
• Inform depends on real-time communication. Sharing the intruder’s location and movement requires emergency communication systems and intercoms that reach every room with clear, plain-language updates.
• Lockdown depends on access control. Securing a building instantly relies on access control and electronic locks that can lock down doors across a site with a single command, rather than asking staff to lock each door by hand.

We install these systems for schools, government agencies, and businesses nationwide, with NDAA-compliant options for public-sector facilities that must meet federal procurement rules. We do not provide ALICE training itself. We build the alert, communication, and access control layer that any active shooter response plan relies on. If you are reviewing how your facility supports its emergency plan, our team can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

ALICE training gives people five options for surviving an active shooter or violent intruder event: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. It is flexible by design, it has both supporting research and serious critics, and it depends on more than a plan on paper. The technology in the building determines whether a threat can be announced, communicated, and contained in time.

Safe and Sound Security installs the emergency notification, communication, and access control systems that turn an active shooter response plan into something a building can actually execute. That work spans K-12 districts and government agencies nationwide, including the Monterey County Office of Education. Whether an organization adopts ALICE, Run-Hide-Fight, or another model, the response is only as fast as the systems behind it. If you want to see how your facility’s emergency notification and lockdown systems support your plan, we can help you assess what is in place and what is missing.

Sources

1. West Liberty University: ALICE
2. The Trace: The Company Behind America’s Scariest School Shooter Drills
3. Journal of School Violence: One Size Does Not Fit All
4. The Trace: ALICE Is Overstating the Effectiveness of Its Active Shooter Trainings
5. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Active Shooter Preparedness