CUPD uses technology, training to prepare emergncy response
In the wake of four school shootings in one month, concern over safety in the school setting has reached the national level.
After the hostage situation that ended in the death of one student and her captor at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo., some University of Colorado faculty members are concerned for their own safety. Officers were sent to talk to the concerned parties, said Lieutenant Tim McGraw of CUPD.
One concern with safety on campus is that the openness and congestion allows for anyone to access most areas on campus at anytime, McGraw said.
A quick response time from CUPD, however, makes many feel confident in their safety on campus.
Police carry special equipment in their cars so they can respond immediately to emergency situations, said Sylvia Dane, the Emergency Management and Planning Coordinator for CU.
“The CU campus is as secure as you can make it,” Dane said. “Every official I’ve dealt with is very willing to do everything in their power to protect a student.”
However, it is very difficult for a university to put the same sort of safety measures into effect as in a K-12 school, Dane said.
“I feel pretty good about campus right now,” said Stephen King, a senior communication major. “It’s just about as safe as it gets.”
The number of school shootings is still a concern for many.
“It’s something where I feel like (school) should be safe, where I feel like all kids should be safe, and they’re not, and it’s really disturbing and terrifying for me,” said Shannon Brown, a sophomore English major.
“People should enjoy themselves on college campuses,” said Colin Beales, a senior history major.
While Dane said the CU campus has not had any active shootings, a mail truck was blown up outside Regent Hall in the 1970s. At another time, a student activist group exploded two bombs off campus killing a total of five people, Dane said.
Safety in schools was the topic of discussion at a national conference on Oct. 10 hosted by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in Chevy Chase, Md.
President George Bush called the conference in response to several recent school shootings across the country and another shooting at a college campus in Canada. The conference included several experts on school safety, including Delbert Elliott, a CU professor and the director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
“We are seeing a resurgence in youth violence, and that is a concern,” said Elliott during the first panel in the conference, which was the panel he was called to speak in.
The first panel discussed the scope of the school violence problem and discussed concrete steps to prevent crime and violence.
“Our kids are safer in school, than they are in almost every other place,” said Elliott during the panel.
“People have to be aware of their surroundings and of the people around them, and they need to make good judgments,” Dane said.
