Public Safety Update

Presentation to University SenateSeptember 23, 2011

Updates on…

• Emergency Preparedness• Role of Housing Officers• Passenger Van Fleet

• Process for signing up has been automated.

ResultsIncoming Class Year # of Freshmen Signing Up

2008 918 (56%)

2009 1,143 (69%)

2010 1,213 (74%)

2011 1,532 (93%)

Emergency Management Group Role

• Emergency Management Group met on August 26th to discuss possible impact and priorities.– Two additional conference calls leading up to the

storm & one post-storm call.– Nova Alert used to update EMG during storm.

• Seven alerts sent throughout storm updating EMG regarding conditions on campus.

Preparedness Priorities

• Emergency Communications – – With students and emergency responders

• Continuing to supply food and water for on-campus residents

• Preparing the campus in advance to mitigate damage.

Communications

• One phone line in Public Safety that is independent of the University phone system

• Established two-way radio communications with one RA in each residence hall

• Established radio communication with Radnor PD.

• Gutters and drains were cleaned and snaked on problem buildings.• Storm drains were checked.• Plumbers gathered pumps and hoses and put them in stores area.• Lg. pump was checked and gassed up.• Building generators were checked and fueled.• Portable generators were moved ,put in place and temporary line run to two dining halls.( Dougherty and

Donahue)• Storeroom had supply of batteries on hand.• Pump house fuel tank and all generator tanks were topped off.• Outside furniture was either secured or brought indoors.• Stocked up on plywood, plastic and duct tape for windows.• Checked flat roofs for any loose debris and cleared off any that was found.• Chained and secured satellite dishes.• Checked and secured all roof hatches and doors.• Had all vehicles gassed up and gas cans filled.• Made sure vehicles were not parked under trees. • Made sure dumpsters were chained or secured.• Made sure recycle bins secured or stored.

Facilities Preparation

Dining Preparedness

• Emergency Generators Pre-Positioned at Dougherty and Donahue.

• 3-4 day supply of food prepared.• Extra paper products• Dining services committed to keeping halls

open, but with limited (cold) menu offerings contingent on the availability of electricity and potable water.

Collaboration with Radnor

• Meeting with Radnor Township officials in collaborative effort.

• Police• Radnor & Bryn Mawr Fire• Public Works• Township Administration• Code Enforcement• Cabrini, Eastern, Valley Forge.

Staffing During Storm

• 27 Public Safety Officers on campus during storm.– 7 additional officers in hotel rooms

• 12 Custodians on during overnight hours• 12 additional on Sunday • 12 Facilities Tradesmen

Command and Control During Storm

• Weather conditions monitored throughout night.

• Nova Alerts Issued• Conditions assessed• Staff Re-deployed.

Alerts Issued

• Saturday, 8/27 @ 10:27 AM – VU Hurricane Irene preparation update available at www.villanova.edu.

• Saturday, 8/27 @ 8:53 PM – Flood warning has been issued. Take shelter immediately until storm all clear is issued.

• Saturday, 8/27 @ 10:25 PM – A tornado warning has been issued for the VU area until 11:00 PM. Take shelter immediately.

Alerts Issued Cont….

• Saturday, 8/27 @ 11:35 PM – Tornado watch remains in effect until 5AM. Wind and heavy rain will continue thru the night. Stay inside.

• Sunday, 8/28 @ 9:36 AM – Storm Update Available at www.villanova.edu

• Sunday, 8/28 @ 6:00 PM – Final storm update and all clear. Visit www.villanova.edu for more info.

Injuries

• Three students injured– Two ‘mud sliding’

• One required 31 stitches and tore a ligament• One twisted her ankle

– One fell on wet lobby floor in residence hall.

Storm Impact• North Ithan Avenue at County Line flooded intermittently. • South Ithan Avenue flooded at SEPTA overpass• Loss of power to Lancaster Avenue properties• Generator moved to power Moriarity.• Downed Tree on S. Ithan

Additional Storm Impact

• Water in Stanford and St. Mary’s Clogged Drain at HSB

Redefining the Role of the Housing Officer

Overview of Changes

• Shift in focus from desk attendant to security• Coverage increased from 11 to 13 buildings• Hours moved to 9PM to 5AM• Officers no longer stationed at fixed locations• No longer one officer per building

OLD SOP NEW SOPA Housing Officer is posted at the main card reader entrance to some co-ed and all female residence halls.

A Housing Officer is assigned to an area consisting of one or two residence halls on South and Main campus.

He/She is there to supplement the card reader system. Their primary duties are to ensure only Villanova University students enter the building, by verifying the students through a valid WildCard.

He/She is there to monitor activity in and around their assigned residence hall(s) and to be on the lookout for safety and security hazards. Housing officers visually inspect for propped doors and windows, as well as signs that the security of the building has been breached or that unsafe conditions exist.

They also identify and register the entry of any visitors, when the visitor is accompanied by a Villanova student.

Officers should be conducting foot patrols of interior common areas and the building’s exterior. At the same time, officers may ask for ID from any individual in or around a residence hall whose actions or appearance are suspicious.

Officers will position themselves in such a way as to strictly control access to the hall.

Officers will continue to conduct exterior and interior building checks throughout their shift. Officers will pay particular attention to areas of high activity, areas known for breaches of security, or policy violations.Officers will respond to requests from dispatch to check on propped door alarms received in the Communications Center.

Officers will similarly position themselves at the end of visitation hours to identify exiting males.

Officers will assist and support students and residence life staff in courteous and professional manner.Officers will be on the lookout for injured or ill students and will provide aid consistent with their level of training until additional help arrives.

Rationale for changes

• Limited value of enforcing visitation rules

• Recognition that perils to residence hall students lie outside the building’s walls.

• Able to cover more halls, (13 vs. 11) picking up St. Mary’s and Simpson

• Layout of lobbies not conducive to funneling people past the officer’s desk.

• Volume of traffic made it impossible to check ID’s against building rosters.

Officer Initiated ActivitiesAugust 14th to September 19th

Passenger Van Fleet

Background

Operation of large passenger vans is recognized as one of the highest-risk activities in higher education institutions, and this is reflected in our own insurer’s loss experience.

Numerous catastrophic accidents involving large passenger vans in higher education settings have been reported in the media, including: o Temple University dance team accident in 2010 (1 fatality and 7 injuries)

o California Baptist University cross-country team accident in 2010 (3 fatalities and 16

injuries)

o Prairie View A & M University (Texas) track team accident in 2000 (4 fatalities and 7 injuries)

Villanova has long recognized large passenger vans as an area of high potential risk, while

recognizing their necessity for student-related activities.

In early 2007, the University’s provider of general liability insurance (United Educators) approached Villanova and other selected schools, and requested that the schools undertake a significant risk-reduction project as part of a pilot program.

Villanova committed to analyzing our passenger van activity and identifying ways to decrease our risk, with the endorsement of United Educators.

Description of How the Van Fleet Will Operate

The University’s large passenger vans be managed by the Parking and Transportation Office. Initially, the University will maintain the same number of passenger vans that are currently owned or leased by the University, although it is anticipated that over time, the University will be able to reduce the size of the van fleet, and the size of some of the individual vans in the fleet.

A centralized scheduling system will be utilized by the departments that are contributing vans to the pool, to reserve vans for their use. Departments will continue to approve the individual van trips when they make reservations in the scheduling system. Departments with regularly recurring trips (i.e., trips at the same time of day on the same days of the week) will be able to make reservations up to one year in advance for planned trips.

The keys to the passenger vans will be picked up from and returned to the Public Safety Office in Farrell Hall, which will be open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Special procedures will be put in place to accommodate the needs of Mission and Ministry and Service Learning, which for programmatic reasons, need students to be physically present in their offices prior to and upon returning from their service experience.

Recent Developments

A Fleet Advisory Committee was formed to oversee the implementation of the centralized passenger van fleet, and to provide feedback on an ongoing basis after implementation. The Director of Parking and Transportation will chair the committee, and the committee will include representatives of the following departments:

o Risk Management & Insurance

o Facilities Management

o Athletics

o Mission and Ministry

o Service Learning

o Biology (faculty and staff representatives)

o Residence Life

o Student Development

o Music Activities