TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — After a former student shot and killed a University professor on campus, the University of Arizona promised major security upgrades.
It won’t be long before the Fall session begins here at the University of Arizona but hanging over all of this is the memory of the shooting of Professor Thomas Meixner in October of last year. UA spent a lot of time since then upping security on campus; and KGUN9 had a chance to get an inside look at some of the preps.
Many of the safety provisions are outlined on the website for UA’s Office of Public Safety.
Work has been underway since about last April, adding electronic locks, room by room, across 58 buildings on the main campus and at other UA campuses across the state. One push of the red button locks the classroom.
Even before the shooting many building entrances had electronic locks with key codes. More are being added and the university is working towards the ability to lock down the entire campus at once.
The University brought in retired FBI Agent Steve Patterson to lead the security upgrades. He knows locks are only part of protection. People need to know how to make the right moves when they’re under stress and in danger.
Patterson says, “That's part of creating the awareness, creating the training. Craig, maybe you don't pay attention as you come into the classroom, but the student to the left student to the right is paying attention and will help other students you know. We want to create the culture that these are just things that we do and in no way are we compromising the freedom and the love we have for this campus.”
That campus can be complex and hard to navigate. Part of the effort puts posters in each room to help people call 911 with precise information on the building and room where they need help.
To recognize and defuse threats, the University has officers with mental health training, a Lieutenant assigned to focus on criminal investigations, and a threat assessment team.
KGUN reporter Craig Smith asked Interim UA Police Chief Chris Olson: “How do you figure out who is simply angry but not a threat? And who is angry and yes, a threat?”
Olson: “That's the trick. That's, that's one of the tough parts that comes in again, that's where understanding of threat analysis is going to come into play. And again, we're going to use all of our talents, all of our resources and all of our regional partners and software to help us analyze that.”
Incoming law student Austin Vertesch says he heard of the shooting when he was still home in Indiana. He says the security changes seem like positive moves.
“I want to see how it’s actually implemented and how that goes and if it’s smooth. And if it's any burden to the student body to like, deal with new security measures. But yeah, it looks like they put a lot of thought into it. And I'm excited to see where that goes from now.”
