Public Safety prepares for emergencies

Author: Eleanor Horowitz

In the wake of national tragedies such as the Columbine shootings, Sept. 11, and last year's Virginia Tech shootings, college public safety departments nationwide have shored up emergency planning techniques and increased their overall safety efforts. Now, offices are pursuing greater professionalization, with some seeking accreditation.

Companies such as the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) have begun helping colleges prepare for emergency situations by standardizing college law enforcement and public safety departments. Today IACLEA counts over 1,100 colleges as members in over 20 countries, according to its Web site.

The College's Department of Public Safety currently is not accredited by any specific company and does not have any imminent plans to pursue accreditation.

"I keep an eye on all of the programs," said Boudah. "Most departments that have gone through the process of accreditation are much larger than ours. It is a very involved process that can take three or four years, and it also takes someone full time to help with it."

Additionally, the College already follows some of the procedures and guidelines that would reach accreditation standards, so it does not necessarily need a company's accreditation to function smoothly and successfully, according to Boudah.

Some of IACLEA's procedures include publishing daily crime logs, which Public Safety already releases on its Web site and to The Middlebury Campus through its office. IACLEA also asks for video surveillance and panic alarms.

Although the College does not use video as a primary source of surveillance, there are two cameras located on campus. One is located in the Mahoney Center for the Arts as an added precaution while the museum is both open and secured. The other is located at the entrance to Parton Health Center and is used at night to open the door when there is only one person working there.

"There are campuses that are in a large urban area, and they would probably have more alarms and video surveillance, and the desire to have more surveillance, to keep people safe and solve crimes," said Boudah.

There are also ethical questions involved with installing video surveillance throughout the campus.

"Does surveillance infringe on other people's privacy?" asked Boudah. "If people were on video would it later be used for something they weren't aware of? We do want to make sure that everyone in the community is safe, but we start from a position of being a safe community."

While some larger institutions have sought accreditation, some accreditation policies would be unnecessary at a small college such as Middlebury, according to administrators.