Reviewing the Emergency Response Plan

April 18, 2007

Dear Campus Community,

As we continue struggling to comprehend the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech on Monday, our thoughts and prayers remain with that campus community and the many people who are affected by this unthinkable violence.

I know that many of us are also thinking about how our campus would respond if such an unlikely event were to take place here. While it is impossible to anticipate the details of an event like Monday’s, I would like to reassure you that we have an emergency response plan.

The plan, which is online at http://www.unco.edu/finadmin/ERPindex.html, details protocols for responding to different levels of emergencies. During a large-scale emergency, law enforcement authorities will establish a safe and secure perimeter around the scene as soon as possible, control traffic, supervise crowds, issue public notifications and launch an investigation.

While the responsibility to plan for and respond to emergencies reaches across campus, the scope of our emergency response plan is very focused. It defines our front-line chain of command, which follows a national model created to improve cooperation and communication among responders after the September 2001 attacks.

The plan was most recently updated in May 2006, but revision is an ongoing process. Eight subcommittees, which began meeting in the fall, are currently working to refine the plan. It will be further refined by a comprehensive campus vulnerability assessment, which UNC is doing with help from a Fort Collins-based risk management and emergency response consulting group. The events at Virginia Tech also offer lessons we can use in refining our plan.

As a campus community, we share an enormous responsibility for the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. As a public institution, we continually work to find the right balance between being a safe campus and being accessible. The UNC Police Department has full police powers; and campus police officers have the same authority as other Colorado police officers. UNC officers are trained to respond to threats, and we have established partnerships with other law enforcement agencies.

One of the lessons already apparent to us from watching the Virginia Tech tragedy is that communication and training are crucial to the successful implementation of an emergency response plan. We must clearly define our communication processes and engage our entire campus in emergency response training, so that all campus community members understand their roles in a crisis.

Being aware of what’s happening around us is also one of the keys to staying safe. If you notice anything suspicious or unusual on campus, don’t hesitate to call UNC Police at 351-2245. I encourage you to program the UNC Police phone number into your cell phone, so you can get help quickly. Dialing 9-1-1 from a campus phone also alerts UNC Police; however, if you dial 9-1-1 on your cell phone from campus, your call will go to Greeley Police.

Following are several resources for further information about emergency preparedness at UNC:

Sincerely,

Kay Norton