Office of University Communications
Missouri State's Emergency Response Task Force makes initial report
Date: August 10, 2007
Contact: Ken McClure
(417) 836-8505
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Although it continues to be a safe campus, Missouri State University should consider a number of improvements for greater security, including enhanced communications, increased target-hardening strategies, additional faculty/staff/student training, and increased personnel, both in the university’s department of safety and transportation and in the number of officers with the Springfield Police substation on campus.
Those are the major recommendations of the Emergency Response Task Force. The task force has issued its initial report, which has been posted on the task force address on the Missouri State web site http://www.missouristate.edu/emergencyresponse/ If fully implemented, the recommendations would cost more than $3.4 million, with more than $2.3 million in one-time expenses and about $1.1 million in on-going expenses.
Missouri State President Michael T. Nietzel has invited comments through August 25, at which time the report will be finalized and implementation will begin.
“I very much appreciate the prompt work of the task force and its thoughtful recommendations,” said Nietzel. “In visiting with the task force, I was pleased to learn of its overall assessment that Missouri State University has been, and continues to be, a safe campus. The recommendations in the report will help ensure we remain so in the future.
“I look forward to the input from the campus community as well as the general public. We will then begin to implement those recommendations that: 1) appear to hold the best promise for further enhancing campus safety, and 2) contribute to an open, inviting campus environment.”
Nietzel appointed the President’s Emergency Response Task Force on May 4, 2007, in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy. The task force was charged with “reviewing existing campus emergency response policies and procedures, identifying areas of potential improvement, and developing a recommended implementation plan, including a timeline and budget.” The task force was also asked to address how to prevent, mitigate, and respond to incidents of campus violence and threats, both internal and external.
The task force included faculty, staff, students and members of the Springfield Police Department. It was chaired by Ken McClure, associate vice president for administrative services.
“The university has an existing Emergency Response Plan that is comprehensive and well-conceived,” said McClure. “Missouri State also has a history of being a safe and secure campus. Our relationship with the Springfield Police Department has been a very positive one. And, we anticipate that the findings of our task force will complement those in the forthcoming report from the Governor’s statewide Campus Security Task Force.”
The task force recommendations include the following:
Communication Systems and Response Plans – provide a layered approach, utilizing existing resources and enhancing emergency communications efforts with new technologies, such as host-based text messaging services and hot-line telephones in classrooms and labs.
Building and Door Access – increase the number of non-commissioned officers in the Missouri State Safety and Transportation Department to help monitor and secure doors, as well as fit all rooms with thumb-locking mechanisms and adding security cameras.
Faculty, Staff and Student Awareness/Proactive Intervention Strategies – provide regular training to the campus community regarding an “active shooter” and the strategies that would be used in each situation.
Relationships with Law Enforcement and First Responders and Training for Campus Public Safety Officers – increase the existing contract Missouri State has with the Springfield Police Department so that additional commissioned officers can be on campus, as well as provide additional training and a “lead-tracking system/record management system.”
As a second phase, the Emergency Response Task Force will conduct a “broader review of campus emergency policies and procedures to include: tornadoes and severe weather, fire, bomb threats, and earthquakes.” The task force is to make its recommendations to Nietzel on this second phase by December 1, 2007. That report also will be made available for public comment and discussion.