University of Arizona shares new safety suggestions following shooting of professor

Safety measures such as adding locks to doors and keyless entry to buildings are being implemented at the University of Arizona following the deadly shooting of a professor in October, the university president announced Friday.

The changes come just two weeks after the release of a campus safety and security report published by PAX Group, a consulting company led by a former FBI agent, for the university. The report provides recommendations to the institution about how to improve safety on campus.

The October shooting by a former student resulted in the death of hydrology professor Thomas Mexiner. The student was threatening faculty and staff for over a year prior to the shooting, with little response from law enforcement and the university.

UA hired Steve Patterson, a former FBI agent and security specialist, as the university's interim chief safety officer while administrators look to hire someone permanently for that position.

"We've been focused intently on how to implement the 33 recommendations that the PAX report provided us, as well to address any related actions that may be necessary to enhance safety and security for our university community," said UA President Robert Robbins during the Friday briefing.

Following the PAX Group recommendations, the university is installing locks on all centrally and non-centrally scheduled doors, which is expected to be completed by August 13.

Keyless access is also being installed on buildings, allowing the campus's central locations to be locked down within one minute. In addition, several high-traffic areas will have duress buttons, and buildings will be equipped with bleed kits and automated external defibrillators.

Although the university has not had a campus-wide emergency drill during classes in recent years, Robbins said such an activity is necessary.

Patterson noted that he is speaking to an outside company that helps conduct these types of emergency drills.

Robbins said the university will have safety briefings every two weeks, streamed live on YouTube.

"My goal is to come to every department faculty meeting to engage about these issues and other things we must discuss about going forward together in partnership across campus," he said.

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Focus centered on threat assessment, management team, restructuring UAPD reporting structure

Under the new chief security officer, the University of Arizona Police Department was moved to the business affairs unit to offer “specialized support for UAPD” and “streamline our communications and responses,” Robbins said.

The university is also enhancing the Threat Assessment and Management Team, called TAMT.

TAMT is a multi-disciplinary group of university employees and contractors formed to assess if someone potentially posed a threat of violence to others on campus. It was created in 2002, after a former student shot and killed three faculty members from the UA College of Nursing and himself.

The report found that TAMT was not working effectively, which prevented the school from accurately assessing threats and coordinating action to address threatening situations.

Robbins said since the recommendations were made, TAMT has recently established a charter, conducted threat assessment training and created an assessment process aimed to intake, review and mitigate incoming threats.

The university also activated the Incident Command System, which defines “personnel roles and lines of communication during an incident,” according to the university's website.

The system's team is made up of personnel from across campus and will help track the university’s progress in implementing the PAX recommendations, Robbins said.

The university also established a new Safety Advisory Commission made up of community members and faculty including those who served on General Faculty Committee on University Safety for All.  The commission will help advise Patterson in his work in helping implement the recommendations.

What about security on other UA campuses?

Although safety is focused on the UA's main campus in Tucson, Patterson is in discussions with other UA campuses to discuss their safety concerns as well. Many of the concerns are centered on facilities-related safety matters such as automated locks and automated external defibrillators.

Patterson said he has visited campuses in Phoenix, Gilbert and Chandler to discuss their concerns. He will also visit campuses in more rural locations like Yuma and Sierra Vista to address concerns and see what changes need to be made.

Threat assessment put into practice during incident at UA law school

Starting Tuesday afternoon, classes at the James E. Rogers College of Law were conducted online for two days following a potential threat that was later deemed non-threatening.

After assessing a potential threat, the law school decided to go to online classes for the following two days under an "abundance of caution," Robbins said.

The university determined there was not an active threat, and the law school sent out a notice to law students, faculty and staff acknowledging the situation and bringing classes back to the building. Additional information was sent out by the provost, according to Patterson.

Patterson said that while they want to get information out to the public as quickly as possible, it is important to make sure the information is accurate, which takes time.

Robbins, however, reiterated the importance to the community to have frequent and early information sent out.

“Earlier, frequent communications are better,” Robbins said, adding that the university needs to do a better job at over-communicating to the public.

How to report a situation or a threat

Robbins said if an incident occurs, it can be reported on the TAMT website. In addition, if someone feels threatened they should contact the head of their department, the dean of their college or the supervisor of their unit. Any report made on TAMT will be sent directly to the chief security officer, Patterson said.

Patterson recommended students also visit the TAMT website to review the resources and tools available for recognizing threatening behaviors, view how to share concerns and understand the threat assessment and management process on campus.

“If you feel threatened, talk to somebody, contact somebody,” Robbins said. “In both the previous tragedies that we had, there was known information.

"We need to do a better job of assessment and management and how to communicate better, so the entire university community knows about these threats,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: University of Arizona to add new safety measures following professor shooting