Safety top priority for OSU police
Friday, November 12, 2010
In light of recent events at the University of Texas and an armed burglary near the Oklahoma State University campus, concerns about campus safety are on the minds of many.
Captain Richard H. Atkins of the OSU Police Department works with emergency notifications, sirens, supervisor communications and other technical aspects of the police force. Atkins has been working for the department for 32 years and is a member of the OSU Emergency Operations Group “Code Red” is the emergency notification system at OSU and has been in place for about four years. The system was being developed prior to the incident at Virginia Tech in April 2007 and was implemented shortly after. Because of delays in delivering text messages through the Code Red system, Atkins encourages people to sign up for the voice message option which can be delivered more promptly. A voice message was used during the recent off-campus shooting in Stillwater. You can sign up for the emergency alerts through your O-Key account.
In addition to emergency alerts, OSU uses a variety of options for getting information out quickly. There are intercom systems on campus and in 12 core campus buildings, with plans to upgrade the fire alarm systems to accommodate the intercoms in all campus buildings in the near future, hopefully in the next year. These intercoms can be used to send out a siren or a voice message. E-mails and social media updates are also used.
Lighted emergency phone posts have been on campus since 1979. Although most people carry cell phones, officers are able to respond much more quickly to the emergency phones because they can see the location right away, even before dispatch picks up the call. The goal is to respond to the location of the call in less than one minute. Although there are instances of accidental calls, Atkins is an advocate of their use. “One call can save somebody, that’s enough,” Atkins said. Greek life phones are currently wireless and solar powered but may be wired to improve reliability.
OSU has close to 50 commissioned officers and staff in its force. Officers do progressive campus patrols throughout the day and night in patrol cars, on bike or on foot in attempt to reduce the risk of potential threats. Atkins emphasized that the Police Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, even when campus is closed. If the door appears to be locked, there is a button to talk to dispatch officers inside. Officers are always on duty and available to help.
Although the OSU Police Department has primary jurisdiction on campus and in adjacent areas, it has a mutual assistance agreement with the Stillwater Police Department and the Payne County Sheriff’s Department. Campus and Stillwater police work and train together frequently for instances such as active shooters. They have weekly meetings and share case information.
Atkins has seen the crime rate stay steady in his years at OSU, which remains one of the safest campuses in the Big 12. He says comparing crime rates across campuses is like comparing apples to oranges because each has so many contributing factors, but when asked if he thinks OSU is a safe campus, he responded with a confident yes.
Larceny and burglary are the most common crimes at OSU and are usually “crimes of opportunity,” Atkins said. He said students are inviting theft when they leave their wallets lying on the floor of the gym while they play basketball or prop their doors open and leave their rooms. The department encourages students to secure valuable items such as bicycles or computers and obtain serial numbers.
Information and resources for doing these things, as well as steps to take in an emergency, can be found on the OSU Police Department website, osupd.okstate.edu.