There are many ways to improve campus safety at universities. This paper will look into practical measures that have been successfully used on-campus in different American universities with the aim to improve various aspects of safety.
One of the biggest priorities is to improve on-campus systems that will recognize, effectively report, and immediately respond to potentially threatening or disturbing behavior and to be able to quickly notify the university community in an event of emergency. In order to achieve this, a university can install new communications equipment as well as software so that warnings to students are mass-mailed via e-mails, text messages, etc. Besides, campuses should be made weapon-free, with regular reviews and checks of unique security plans by private security consultants as well as criminal background checks of newly hired employees (Pakinson, Campus Safety). More security cameras should be installed across campus (University Wire). These measures will help minimize the tragic effects of terrorist acts such as the one at Virginia Tech.
One of the measures is to have a university police force on campus. Craig Russell, head of the department of public safety at Harding University, explains that The police on campus would have the authority to make traffic stops and give tickets; the policemen would pull people over and function like normal police force (University Wire).
To prevent robberies and assaults on students at night, access to the campus should be tightened, free transportation services during night should be expanded, electronic-card access should be installed at all university buildings, and brighter light bulbs should be installed around the campus. Also, self-defense workshops could be organized for students as well as a student awareness campaign (e.g. Safe U at the University of Minnesota) (Lerner, U Installs New Safety Measures for Campus).
Finally, one solution is to install an app that will improve user personal security. One such app is LifeLine Response which allows informing the police about the assault in 15 seconds while also sending the users GPS location to the police. The app also makes it possible for the voice and alarm to sound and alert that the police are on their way. This may scare off the attacker (Reilly, University Could Improve Campus Safety with App).
- Lerner, Maura. U Installs New Safety Measures for Campus. Tribune Business News. 22 Jan 2014. Web. 18 Aug 2014.
- Parkinson, Mark. Campus Safety. US Fed News Service, Including US State News. 19 Aug 2008. 18 Aug 2014.
- Reilly, Briana. University Could Improve Campus Safety with App. University Wire. 2 Dec
2013. Web. 18 August 2014. - University Wire. Public Safety Considers Police Force, Increased Measures for Public
Safety. 23 Jan 2014. Web. 18 Aug 2014.
