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Tuesday, 17 April, 2007 11:56 PM
College Shooting
Shows U.S. Schools Still Vulnerable
NCPC
Calls for Exmination of all School Safety Plans
WASHINGTON
-- The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) said today the tragic
shootings at Virginia Tech are a sharp reminder that every college
and university is vulnerable to violence. NCPC recommends that all
higher education campuses continually update and rehearse emergency
plans and emphasize a campus community-wide crime prevention strategy
so that they combine prevention with preparedness and educate and
involve all key actors.
"Our
hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all those touched
by this tragic event," said Alfonso E. Lenhardt, president
and CEO at NCPC. "This situation shows that every institution
of higher learning is vulnerable to the most devastating violence
plaguing society. It is incumbent upon leaders to work for prevention
but plan for all potential violent situations."
NCPC, the
prevention organization best known for its icon McGruff the Crime
Dog, says each campus must both work to prevent and plan to handle
events no one hopes will ever materialize. The organization offers
some key prevention and preparedness strategies.
-- Recognize
that the entire campus community - students, faculty, staff,
local emergency and law enforcement personnel, and neighboring areas
-
must be involved in prevention.
-- Be prepared
for crisis situations. Develop and practice contingency
plans based on a variety of possible emergencies. Include student
and
faculty leaders who can help coordinate immediate responses.
-- Develop
mechanisms for communicating regularly (as well as in
emergencies) with law enforcement, faculty, staff, students, parents,
and the community on prevention strategies and preparedness and
response plans.
-- Discuss
school safety and security activities and plans with parents
and students during school orientation. Provide reminders through
the
communications network to update staff, faculty, returning students,
and others. Consider periodic open forums to answer questions or
clarify procedures.
-- Bring
together the campus safety team, which should include campus and
community safety and security personnel, faculty, staff, students,
and
parents to review, update, and strengthen prevention and preparedness
plans.
-- Use crime
analysis and crime mapping tools to help identify crime
trends and issues on campus, along with incident analysis to help
refine and improve prevention and response strategies.
Through
its partnership with International Association of Campus Law Enforcement
Administrators (IACLEA), which is supported by the Bureau of Justice
Assistance and by ADT Security Services, NCPC can assess prevention
opportunities and crime vulnerabilities on college campuses, and
ADT offers such services as well. The partners are currently piloting
a campus crime prevention curriculum that brings prevention and
preparedness best practices to campus communities nationwide. As
part of the course pilot, four sites were selected (Duke University;
Columbus (Ohio) State Community College; University of Texas Health
Sciences Center (San Antonio); and California State University at
Northridge) to host the three-day classes for up to thirty-five
participants each. Schools from the areas surrounding the host colleges
are sending participants to the trainings. The pilot training has
150 scheduled participants from 110 colleges and universities. More
training will be scheduled.
National
Crime Prevention Council
The National
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is a private, nonprofit organization
whose primary mission is to be the nation's leader in helping people
keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe from
crime. NCPC manages public service advertising under the National
Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign - symbolized by McGruff the
Crime Dog(R) and his "Take A Bite Out Of Crime(R)" slogan
- and acts as secretariat for the Crime Prevention Coalition of
America, more than 400 national, federal, state, and local organizations
representing thousands of constituents who are committed to preventing
crime. NCPC is funded through a variety of government agencies,
corporate and private foundations, and donations from private individuals.
For more information on crime prevention issues, visit http://www.ncpc.org/.
Source:
National Crime Prevention Council
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