According to Chief of Police Bob Beach, in the past year the Longwood University Police Department (LUPD) has switched their security service provider from Rome Secure to Wynne Security Control Systems. The new vendor provides a more powerful service at a lower cost to the university. Beach said the process of changing vendors took about a year's worth of research and discussion with colleagues.
Beach said there is a current hang-up in regards to updating the emergency alert system. The new security system allows access to the university's internal computer network and should an emergency occur, anyone with a desktop on will see the warning message on their screen. The warning can also be viewed if a PowerPoint presentation is running. However, according to Beach, faculty members have voiced concerns that if there are a lot of messages sent out in this manner, it could be disruptive for the classroom environment. Beach said that these messages would not be sent out unless there was "imminent danger of life and limb."
LUPD Administrative Sergeant Russell Dove said a meeting is scheduled for later in October to address any concerns faculty and staff have about the new warning message medium. Beach said once these concerns are addressed, it should take no more than one or two weeks to get the system up and running.
As for future updates to the system, Beach said he would like to expand the amount of security cameras monitoring the "campus perimeter" (i.e., the Wynne parking lot, Griffin Blvd., etc.) and not the messaging system. As funding becomes available, upgrading the amount of surveillance in these areas will be a priority.
Dove said he would like to see bulletin boards outside that flash warning messages and alerts to passersby incorporated into the university's current emergency alert system should the funding for it become available.
Junior Joseph Schumacher said he thinks the text message and email alerts the LUPD sends out are an effective way to contact students about emergencies. However, he did say some of the alerts are not of high importance to him. An alert is sent out whenever there is a severe thunderstorm warning. Schumacher said, "If it's thunder storming, I can obviously see that it's thunder storming so I didn't really need the text message. But if there's a murderer on the loose on campus, I'm going to want to know that."
In September, the campus emergency alert system was tested to ensure it met the university's security needs. According to a university news release, the system tested a hazardous materials warning. The system consists of a siren and then a voice message explaining the emergency as well as instructions to seek shelter. The sirens are emitted through strategically placed speaker arrays across campus. There are also sirens at Lancer Park and Longwood Village, as well as the athletic fields at Johnston Drive. The sirens can be heard up to half a mile from the campus and approximately a quarter of a mile from the apartment complexes.
According to Dove, there are five pre-scripted warning messages that are played after an emergency alert siren goes off. The messages cover an array of situations, which include tornado warning, hazardous materials incident, active shooter on campus, building fire, and suspicious person alert.
Dove said the text message alerts and siren warning messages are all pre-scripted so in the event of an emergency, "All the dispatcher has to do is hit a button." Dove also said there is a free text option, which allows dispatchers to create updated messages about the emergency, such as the whereabouts of an active shooter on campus.
In conjunction with the message and sirens, text messages are sent to those who have signed up to receive updates about campus emergencies. Students, their parents, faculty and staff are all encouraged to sign up for the emergency alert text message and email alerts. You can sign up for these messages at the campus Crisis and Emergency Communication Center's website at http://www.longwood.edu/crisiscomm.
