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 There are currently efforts to introduce a campus security plan that includes mass text messaging, email, and voicemail. Photo Illustration by Jake Barber/Argonaut
In an era where the possibility of an event like the Virginia Tech massacre is real, one can never be too careful.
After the tragedy in Blacksburg, private groups across the nation began studies directed toward security on college campuses and open public places in general.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to improve security on campus,” said Nancy Spink, Risk Management Officer for the University of Idaho. “We’ve paid close attention to research that has come out of the Virginia Tech shooting, and we’re looking to see how that might benefit us.”
The primary goal of Spink’s office is to maintain a safe environment on campus.
“What we really need to find is a way to integrate security into all aspects of the campus,” Spink said. “We would like to integrate a culture of security into the open environment the campus currently offers.”
Spink said she finds it difficult to promote security as much as she would like due to the fluid nature of the faculty and staff. There is a complete turnover every four years among the students, and the faculty doesn’t stay the same each year either.
One way of educating the university populace that Spink has found successful is the risk management Web site.
The Web site offers a comprehensive analysis of several different emergency situations and what the average person should do in order to ensure their safety. Information can be found at www.uidaho.edu/emergency.aspx.
The university also purchased two videos that are available for download off the Web site. These videos deal with developing what’s known as a “survivor’s mindset,” Spink said.
The survivor’s mindset is important in any emergency situation since it encourages the individual to do everything possible in order to ensure their survival.
“The survivor’s mindset is one where you decide you will survive, then your mind kicks in and tells you how to survive,” Spink said.
There is an effort underway to install a comprehensive system that would alert the university populace to emergency situations via text message, voicemail and e-mail. The current system in use at UI only releases e-mail alerts.
“E-mail works well when the emergency is one that offers warning, like a storm,” Spink said. “However, in the event of an active shooter, which often times is over within 20 minutes, e-mail isn’t going to get the job done.”
Washington State University already has that system in place. Spink helped implement the system in Pullman, since the two universities work together on security related issues.
“The system works excellently,” said Christopher Tapfer, the emergency management coordinator at WSU. “It contacts both landlines and cell phones, as well as e-mail, voicemail and text message.”
WSU has had their system operating since December 2007, Tapfer said. They used it during the snowstorms in January that crippled the Moscow – Pullman area, and found much success with the system.
WSU’s system is maintained at multiple off-site locations by a third party. It costs the university $35,000 a year, but Tapfer believes that’s money well spent.
“Even if one of the off-site locations is down, our system still works,” he said. Tapfer prefers having the system off-site because it will still function in a far-reaching emergency. Instead of relying on people right at the heart of the emergency to send out the notifications, someone free and clear of the event can do it.
The Risk Management office is also looking into having a third party come in and write a report about security at the university, citing areas that could be improved.
Currently, the city of Moscow leases the services of three of its police officers to tend to the university full time. However, in the event of a crisis, not only will the entirety of the on duty Moscow police force respond, but law enforcement from adjacent cities and counties will arrive on scene as well.
Due to a mutual aid agreement between the city of Moscow and most surrounding law enforcement agencies, emergency services can be lent to each city as needed. For example, during the 2007 shootings in Moscow, law enforcement agencies from across the region responded.
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