NCJ Number
194598
Journal
Campus Safety Journal Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 10-11
Date Published
April 2002
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article presents three security lessons learned by Pace University due to its location just three blocks from the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Abstract
The first lesson is to prepare for all types of emergencies. This should be done by having an emergency protocol in place that names members of the crisis team, describes the assigned roles of each member, and specifies ways to communicate between team members during the crisis. Protocols should also include relocation sites where members of the crisis response team as well as the community should meet if a command center or common area is incapacitated. Proper training should be conducted, along with team-building. The second lesson is to update the protocol regularly. In addition to updating procedures and policies, emergency contact phone lists must be reviewed regularly and revised as often as possible. The third lesson is to anticipate campus needs. Although it is impossible to foretell every possible crisis a campus may encounter, it is possible to provide training that develops skills to respond adaptively; for example, when Pace University lost power on the night of September 11th and all access to and from the campus was cut off because the university was within the "frozen zone," the university transportation network was effectively shut down. A way had to be found to evacuate the residential students. The university's director of security worked with the NYPD to obtain city buses to shuttle students out of the zone. Thus, part of the process of anticipating potential problems is to create an environment in which individual crisis team members will think creatively and positively.