The University of Arizona Police Department has taken measures to implement crime prevention efforts that show the UA community how to be proactive if presented with unexpected events.
“We do a lot of teaching throughout the campus and one of the topics we cover is what we call ‘an active shooter,'” said Crime Prevention Officer Rene Hernandez. “We show how one might react in a situation like that.”
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Hernandez additionally stated UAPD educates certain departments, colleges and organizations, but must be asked to provide the service.
Hernandez emphasized the importance of open communication between civilians and UAPD.
“We have a big tagline here at UA: ‘if you see something, say something,'” Hernandez said. “We need to know what’s going on so we can better prepare for incidents and be able to solve problems.”
UAPD recommends the UA community contact it if they see something out of the ordinary.
“As soon as it catches their eye, we encourage them to call UAPD directly, either using our anonymous tip line, our main number, or by using the blue light phones,” Hernandez said.
“Knowing that UAPD could be there almost immediately to respond to a situation does make me feel safer,” said RuthAnn Grumbling, a Junior studying Spanish. “I don’t feel like I’m in more danger at UA than I would be at any other university—but I do think there is just general concerns about safety on college campuses.”
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Makenzie Lemons, an animal science sophomore, believes vigilance is crucial in determining one’s safety. Lemons also understands how the UA could become a potential and feasible target for someone to wreak havoc, due to the dense UA population all housed within a relatively small area.
“I carry pepper spray and a pocket knife and took self defense courses before coming to UA,” Lemons said.
Lemons also encourages students who do come to campus to take precautionary measures and make sure they have the tools they need to assess and deal with unwanted and unexpected situations.
“Be aware of your surroundings and take pride in the university you attend,” Hernandez said. “This is a community and we want to make sure everyone is safe in this community, so we really depend on students, faculty, and staff to let us know what is going on, to make sure we can provide the best service possible.”
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