In response to the recent shooting of a Virginia Tech campus police officer, UW-Madison Police Chief Sue Riseling discussed improvements the university and campus police departments have made to their crisis prevention and response strategies.
At a Board of Regents meeting Friday, Riseling said following the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, UW-Madison dramatically improved its ability to communicate with the community. She said in an emergency situation, campus can send out alert messages to more than 77,000 people in 10 minutes or less.
Assistant Director for UW Communications Terry Devitt said many of these improvements come in thanks to text alerts and emails, which can reach students instantly.
“[There are] lots of different tools that one can use to get to the university community and beyond very quickly, and we would use the whole menu if the situation warranted it,” Devitt said.
Riseling said another important safety measure is detecting an individual’s violent tendencies and counseling them before they act violently.
“The key to understanding Virginia Tech of 2007 is the key to prevention,” she said. “If we can identify folks early on, intervene and get them some assistance we can thwart a lot of this.”
The challenge currently facing many of these counseling programs is a lack of funding, Riseling said. She said the university has been forced to lower the administrative services budget, which includes counseling services, to combat the budget deficit.
