Keeping Students Safe

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Students who come to the University of Arkansas, and their families, have the right to expect a campus environment at least as safe as their homes, and in many cases, safer. The university puts significant time, money, equipment and people into meeting that expectation. Campus safety is an ongoing concern: 24/7, 365 days a year. 

“It’s not a matter of responding to any one incident,” said Dean of Students Daniel Pugh.  “We want to prevent incidents from happening. We have policies, procedures and programs in place designed to protect students, and to teach them ways to protect themselves.”

Four university divisions are directly involved in making the campus a safe place.

University Police

Patrol: Security efforts begin with the University of Arkansas Police Department. Two-thirds of the 30 sworn officers in the department are regularly assigned to patrol the campus and the streets around it day and night. That number increases each year during the first week of classes, when UAPD puts its Operation Saturation in effect. Officers patrol in cars, on foot and by bicycle.  This year, for the first time, two officers will be traveling the campus on Segways, the two-wheel scooters that can go virtually anywhere. 

Crime prevention: UAPD officers are active in crime prevention campaigns on campus. The UAPD Web site at http://uapd.uark.edu contains security tips, safety information and campus alerts. Officers take part in student orientation sessions and First Year Experience classes, teaching new students safety awareness and risk avoidance; they are also available to talk with any group that makes a request for information.

For students who want more specific training, UAPD officers teach a self-defense course for women, Rape Aggression Defense. The eight-week class is offered twice each semester as a one-hour credit course.

University Police work with students to provide security in another way, as well. Officers screen and supervise a student escort service, the Razorback Patrol, which operates on campus Sunday to Thursday from 6 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. When Razorback Patrol stops its service, UAPD officers are available to provide escorts.

University Housing

Building security: University students spend a large part of their time in their residence halls. The University of Arkansas has one of the only housing departments in the country with a full-time safety/security director to plan and oversee the on-campus housing facilities. That’s one reason each residence hall on campus is equipped with an electronic access system, making sure students have a secure, locked building at all times.

University Housing is also in the process of equipping each residence hall with closed circuit television cameras at strategic locations in each building. These video signals will be accessible to the front desk in each hall and to the housing dispatch center. The recordings can be made available to University Police to investigate any criminal incident. Some residence halls that already have closed circuit systems will be getting new cameras or more cameras in the next few weeks.

Residence halls have two additional safety features, installed by University Housing. All residence halls are equipped with the most sophisticated fire alarm system available on the market. All smoke detectors, heat detectors and pull stations in every building report their exact locations to the front desk. The system monitors for any tampering or detector removal and reports that immediately to the primary fire panel. An additional system is in place in the residence halls to delivery immediate warnings to students in cases of severe weather or some other emergency situation. Those systems are scheduled to be upgraded this semester.

All of the residence hall security systems are monitored at all times at the dispatch center of the Housing Central Office.

Resident hall patrols: University Housing uses more than technology to protect students.  Staff members are assigned to patrol the residence halls from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. each night. Patrol members are in radio contact with the central dispatch. They monitor the halls for any safety and/or security concerns, and provide walking coverage inside the halls and on individual floors in the early morning hours. They also report burned out lights, or areas that need more lighting to Facilities Management.

Facilities Management

Campus lighting: Maintaining a safe campus environment is one of Facilities Management’s many responsibilities, especially when it comes to lighting on campus. Staff members regularly patrol campus looking for lights that aren’t working, so they can be fixed.  University Police officers and Razorback Patrol cadets also monitor the lighting situation. Twice a year, usually at the start of the fall and spring semesters, Facilities Management organizes an evening “Campus Walk of Lights” with staff from several departments, university administrators and students to identify lighting problems. The team traveled the campus this August and found fewer nonworking lights than in any previous walk.

 Well lighted pathways are important for everyone’s safety on campus, so students, faculty and staff are all encouraged to notify the Facilities Management of burned out lights or areas that may need additional lighting. The Web site at www.phpl.uark.edu has a “Campus Outdoor Lighting Service Request” link with a form that can be filed electronically, or printed out and mailed to the department. Another link on the Web site can be used to report any kind of unsafe condition on campus. 

Monitoring and maintaining 894 lights is a challenge. Facilities Management has come up with new procedures to make the process more efficient, and is working to eventually change out the huge variety of lights on campus for two standardized models.

Student safety: In addition to lighting concerns, Facilities Management works with contractors to make sure construction sites are fenced to keep students away from potentially dangerous areas. The department also maintains 85 emergency/information telephones located around the campus, including 55 in the two parking facilities.

Pat Walker Health Center

Safety education: No matter what safety measures are in place on campus, it’s important that students are taught to take responsibility for their own safety. The Pat Walker Health Center plays a major role in teaching students safety strategies that can be used at the university and wherever they go throughout their lives. Programs focus on risk reduction, personal safety and the safety of others. Students can get instruction in First Year Experience classes, residence hall meetings and through activities organized during school year. The RESPECT program (Rape Education Services by Peers Encouraging Conscious Thought) and STAR (Support Training Advocacy Resources) Central office specifically deal with ways students can protect themselves from sexual assault and all forms of relationship violence. In addition, the academic courses  Personal Health and Safety, Substance Abuse Prevention, and Assertiveness Training give students the information and techniques they need to help them make safe choices.

Student involvement

The Associated Student Government is involved in the safety issue as well, organizing the Safe Ride program, and convincing students to support it with a student fee.  Safe Ride is intended to provide students with an efficient means of transportation from any uncomfortable or inconvenient situation back to their residence. Any UA student can call for the service on campus or anywhere within the Fayetteville city limits and get a ride at no cost, and with no questions asked. ASG officers say that students want them to get more involved in campus safety programs, and they expect to initiate several more programs this year.

Incident response procedures

University officials realize that even with the most comprehensive programs, not every incident can be prevented. “We know there will be incidents,” said Dean Pugh, “And we’re prepared to respond to them.”

The Health Center provides confidential medical and psychological services to any victim of sexual assault or physical violence. If an attack is reported to the University of Arkansas Police Department, it is vigorously investigated, and if it involves an unknown assailant the entire campus community is quickly alerted to the potential danger. In a recent incident in which a student reported she had been sexually assaulted, the university community was notified through e-mails and flyers that were put up in all residence halls and other appropriate buildings. When University Police, working with the victim, produced a sketch of the suspect, it was also posted.  This is standard procedure, and required by law. 

At the same time, the incident was examined by a team of campus safety experts to determine what might have been done to prevent it. That, too, happens any time there is a security incident on campus.

      The departments involved in campus security regularly review their procedures, looking for ways to make the campus safer. This year the university administration is considering several recommendations, including more use of security cameras and closed circuit television monitoring systems, particularly in parking lots.