From Policies to Panic Alarms: 5 Essential Steps for Improving University Campus Safety

Going to university is an exciting experience, but it can often be a little anxiety-inducing too. Students may worry about not fitting in, while parents worry about whether their children will settle into living alone for the first time. The last thing students and parents want to worry about is their safety on campus too.

According to USA Today, campus crime has reached pre-pandemic levels, although there has been a downwards trend over the last decade. In the UK, violent or sexual crime is the most likely crime for students to be a victim of. So what should universities do to keep their campuses safe for all?

As a university administrator, you have a responsibility to ensure the safety of your students, staff and visitors. You should have robust policies and procedures in place, adopt safety technology and conduct regular audits of your facilities. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of our top 5 tips for improving campus safety with a FREE checklist to help you audit your campus.

Contents:

• 1. Construct a comprehensive campus safety plan
• 2. Implement safety technology
• 3. Conduct regular safety and evacuation training
• 4. Regularly review and update your policies and procedures
• 5. Conduct regular audits and assessments of your campus facilities
• Free safety planning checklist

1. Construct a comprehensive campus safety plan

One of the most important things you can do to keep your university safe is to construct a campus safety plan that outlines the procedure for emergency situations. This means having a plan in place for everything from natural disasters to medical emergencies. It also means training your staff on what to do in these situations, and conducting regular drills to ensure everyone is prepared.

Good campus safety plans should include:

• Defined roles and responsibilities: Have a dedicated leadership team for health and safety with different skill sets and areas of responsibility. Include staff members with experience in areas such as emergency response, risk management and environmental health to ensure all aspects of health and safety are addressed.
• Clear lines of communication: How will staff raise the alarm should there be an intruder, a medical emergency or weather event? Ensure you have a clear policy and line of command on how information is passed across campus.
• Regular drills and training: Conduct regular drills for different events, such as fire, active shooter, lockdown and inclement weather to ensure your staff are prepared to lead students through the process and identify any areas for improvement.

2. Implement safety technology

Technology is a great way to enhance campus safety. Many security solutions can integrate with other tech that your staff and students use to create a cohesive safety network that everyone can rely on.

Safety and security solutions you can use include:

• CCTV and surveillance: HD cameras can help deter crime and monitor what goes on on campus, and can even include facial recognition
• Access control: Use electronic access control systems through campus cards or fobs to restrict access to areas where only students, staff or both can access and the general public cannot
• Panic alarm software: Ideal for alerting whole buildings or areas of emergencies like intruders, active shooters and more, or for speeding up response times to things like medical emergencies

Little Green Button’s desktop and mobile apps can send mass alerts to multiple buildings or campuses in emergency situations. Teaching staff can quickly and easily change their location if they are moving between lecture halls so they can raise an alert if they need assistance and get help fast. By having this software in place, you can ensure that everyone on campus is aware of any emergency situations and can respond quickly and effectively.

3. Conduct regular safety and evacuation training

It’s crucial that your staff know what to do in a range of emergency situations. Make sure you run training sessions at regular intervals to keep faculty staff informed of new safety measure you have in place and to refresh their knowledge of procedures. 

For situations where students may have to take responsibility for their own safety, such as during a fire, lockdown or active shooter situation, you should run regular drills so students know what to do. 

You may want to consider doing the following training:

• Drills: For fire, active shooter, lockdown and any other mass emergencies
• Role-playing: Acting out various emergency situations can help staff consider what they would do in a real-life situation
• First aid training: You should have a number of first aid trained staff in the different buildings across your campus. Laws vary across the world, but in the UK, employers must have an appointed person to deal with first aid and must ensure that employees receive immediate attention if they become unwell or injured at work
• Technology training: During any training, you should ensure a section includes teaching or refreshing staff on how to use the security technology you have in place, such as panic alarms or access control systems

For staff in situations where risks could evolve quickly, for example in research labs or other areas where there is more safety risk, you could train them in conducting dynamic risk assessments. Dynamic risk assessments help you to assess rapidly changing risks in real time, allowing you to make quick decisions and adapt as circumstances change. 

4. Regularly review and update your policies and procedures

In busy universities where socialising, campaigning, research and many other functions besides teaching go on daily, risks can change and evolve quickly. This means it’s vital that you stay up to date on the latest best practices and regulations in the university and college sector and ensure that your policies and procedures reflect those changes.

You should review your policies and procedures at least once a year, and communicate those changes to staff. You may want to include students in some of the communication, especially in any policies that directly relate to dealing with student safety.

5. Conduct regular audits and assessments of your campus facilities

Finally, to ensure the safety of everyone on campus, it’s important to conduct regular audits and assessments of your facilities and operations. Conduct regular inspections of your buildings and equipment to ensure they are safe and up to code. Assess the day-to-day operations of faculty buildings, food outlets and student services to identify any potential hazards and address them before an accident occurs.

When you audit your campus buildings, consider the following areas:

• Policies: Do you have the right policies in place to keep staff and students safe, and are they aware of the most up-to-date policies?
• People: Are all staff trained on health and safety practices? Can students provide feedback for improving campus safety? 
• Systems: Are there adequate safety measures in place to prevent and manage risks? Are you collecting and analysing data on safety incidents to identify areas for improvement?

Download our free checklist for university administrators to use alongside your health and safety audit and ensure you’ve ticked all the boxes for keeping staff and students safe.

Creating a safe and welcoming environment is essential for any university to thrive. Use our campus safety tips to take proactive steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your students, visitors and staff. 

As you continually assess and improve your campus safety measures, your university or college can cultivate a culture of trust, respect and security for all members of your community.