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In this Higher Ed Careers interview, Andrew Hibel speaks with a deputy chief of police at the University of Illinois Police Department (Champaign/Urbana) about common threats to campus safety, the role campus safety officers play, and how to educate students to keep themselves safe.
Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Tell us about your current role in higher education, what led you there, and what you enjoy about working in this space.
Joe McCullough, University of Illinois: I am a deputy chief of police at the University of Illinois Police Department (Champaign/Urbana). I currently oversee our administrative section, Detective Bureau, security division, and special events. I also am assigned to oversee my department’s involvement in our University Threat Assessment Team. During the fall and winter, a majority of my time is spent overseeing police operations at our football stadium and basketball arena. I love my job, and I find the most satisfaction in successful community collaboration, and I thrive on developing lasting professional relationships throughout campus. I recently earned my M.A. in political science, and my closure exercise focused on restorative justice practices in law enforcement. I enjoy the challenge of integrating restorative justice practices into various areas of police services, including threat assessment and narcotics enforcement.
Hibel: When we think about campus safety and security, many of us think of campus emergencies (active shooters, robbery, natural disasters, etc.). What are some of the lesser-known but important campus safety issues that you deal with, and what should staff, faculty, and students know to prevent or avoid these?
McCullough: Traffic issues. That’s one of the most common ways people get hurt on campus. We have tens of thousands of people — vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians — moving around campus every day. With those numbers and the density of campus, conflicts are unavoidable. Yes, active shooters, robberies, and natural disasters are scary and catastrophic when they occur — but they are also exceedingly rare. We have multiple people seriously injured every year in traffic accidents. That’s why our officers spend a good portion of their time enforcing traffic laws, because unsafe or reckless driving, biking, or walking can kill.
A second area of concern is the massive amount of deception and online schemes to defraud our students of money. Each semester, we see cases wherein tens of thousands of dollars are defrauded from students. Scammers are extremely intelligent and calculated, and their methods are strikingly professional. We always caution our community members to consult with police if something doesn’t seem right in a transaction. We’ve also investigated offenders who spoof a police department phone number to prey on unsuspecting victims. We strongly encourage those who believe they are actively being scammed to hang up and dial the main phone line to their local police department if there are any concerns as to the validity of the originating call.
Hibel: George Washington University was recently in the news for moving forward with a plan to arm some officers, which sparked a controversy. This is no doubt something other colleges wrestle with. Why is this such a difficult and controversial choice? What are the pros and cons? And what needs to happen to ensure the best outcomes for everyone on campus?
McCullough: Our students, faculty, staff, and community members are the most important assets that we have been charged to protect. Many of the most impactful headlines involving mass violence have occurred at institutions of higher education. Our officers spend significant time each year training to respond to active shooter incidents. We also recognize that there are armed offenders who target our community members in more acute circumstances. Officers hope to never have to pull their weapon as it is a life-altering instance for all involved, but they are prepared to protect our community. What I try to impress upon people is the fact that our campus is very large and open to the public. We have 56,000 students (many of whom live on campus), 15,000 faculty and staff, and untold numbers of daily visitors. We are a city within a city. Unfortunately, that means we experience the same kinds of crime issues that any other city experiences. We have to be equipped to address those, especially when lives are at risk.
Hibel: The headline on your site reads, “The Division of Public Safety empowers you to take control of your safety.” What is this idea of empowerment when it comes to safety? What role do you see yourself filling for students?
McCullough: The Division of Public Safety works hard to keep our campus community safe, but we always tell our students that they truly are our most important crime prevention tool. A lot of our students are away from home/parents and really living independently for the first time in their lives, so we believe an important part of what we do is giving them the skills to keep themselves safe in college and beyond. And a lot of that involves taking personal responsibility for protecting themselves and others — things like locking doors, consuming alcohol responsibly, being a good bystander when they notice a troubling situation, etc. We play an active role in this education by providing regular communications on public safety issues, attending new student orientations, providing safety presentations throughout the year, providing services like SafeWalks, and making crime statistics and information available. We try to give students all the tools and information they need to keep themselves safe. And, of course, we are always there to provide support if they are experiencing a safety issue.
Hibel: What strategic communications should a campus safety team be putting out?
McCullough: I’d say there are two categories for this: emergency notifications and educational material. On a college campus, many of our crime alerts and emergency notifications are prescribed by the Clery Act, but it’s important that we include relevant information in those so that our campus community members are aware of major crimes and have resources and safety tips related to those crimes that they can use to prevent similar issues and keep themselves safe. Emergency notifications (we call them Illini-Alerts) about dangerous situations are in a similar vein. The other category, educational material, goes along with the idea of empowering students to take control of their own safety. This can be in the form of printed material, digital signs, social media posts, mass emails, and in-person communication at outreach events. These will hopefully educate students about safety issues and crime prevention tips, so that they don’t ever become a victim of crime in the first place.
Hibel: Oftentimes, students might think it’s best to avoid campus safety, much like people do with police forces across the country. Some campuses have moved toward a friendlier “business casual” look to increase officers’ approachability. How has U of I public safety worked to engage students and be more approachable? What do you recommend other schools do to get students involved rather than avoid public safety?
McCullough: Many of our outreach team members, as well as our Community Service Officers, dress in a more “business casual” look; however, I do not envision moving away from traditional police uniforms for our patrol shifts. Our agency has approximately 70,000 people in its patrol area, and we have a high ratio of international students; the traditional police uniform is a highly recognized look. I am a believer in ensuring that our officers are very professional in their duties but extremely personable and approachable for all. There is also practical value in a highly-visible uniformed patrol presence, which in itself can act as a crime deterrent.
Hibel: A recent article from Deloitte says that the “magnitude of risks demands a new response paradigm.” When it comes to emergency response on campus to serious threats, what are the components of a successful plan, and how have they evolved over the years?
McCullough: Successful and efficient response to threats requires being more proactive in early intervention and relying less on being purely reactive. I am a strong believer in work that behavioral intervention teams and threat assessment teams do on a daily basis. Whether it is in a professional environment or on a campus, successful threat assessment teams are able to triage cases and provide resources to both victims and offenders. Teams who are best equipped with the tools to mitigate incidents or potential incidents are comprised of members from various academic and support service units. These teams must be in place long before an event occurs. Members need to have a foundation of trust with the common goal of supporting a safe environment. Setting up a threat assessment team or a response team after a serious incident occurs may be a futile effort.