U.S. House approves National Campus Safety Center

Last Tuesday, Congress finally began embracing Healy’s vision. By a voice vote, the House passed H.R. 748, a bill that creates a National Center for Campus Public Safety in Washington, D.C. Pending Senate approval and a presidential signature, the new department would be administered by the Community Oriented Policing Services program within the Justice Department.

The center would compile research and issue grants for the promotion of campus safety throughout the country.

“We’re still a year away, I think, even in very optimistic terms,” Healy said, assuming the center receives funding in the next fiscal year.

He added that he was encouraged by the response to his testimony before the House Committee on Labor.

“After the testimonies, we gained some support,” Healy noted.

The current lack of a centralized body for campus safety has become increasingly problematic as colleges deal with new types of threats, Healy said.

“There are a lot of issues colleges and universities face,” Healy explained, noting that “there is no central clearinghouse or coordinating body to assist colleges and universities in understanding what they should be doing with campus safety and security.”

The University’s crime prevention coordinator, James Lanzi, said that House approval of the center is a sign of the growing acknowledgement of the importance of effective security agencies on university campuses.

“They’re recognizing that campus law enforcement is a growing area … and it needs the same identity as any other type of law enforcement,” he said.

Lanzi noted that maintaining security on college campuses is especially challenging due to their inherent nature as open forums for intellectual development, both literally and figuratively.

“You can’t just put walls and barriers around a campus,” he explained.

“You have to look at it as an open environment. You don’t want to hinder the academic process.”

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Healy said he hopes that the National Center for Campus Public Safety will facilitate transmission of information garnered from past security incidents.

“Every time we have a critical incident, we learn a lot of things,” Healy said. “We learned a lot of things after Virginia Tech. We learned more things after the shooting at Northern Illinois [University on Feb. 14, 2008]. We have to ensure that all universities have access to the lessons learned as a result of these critical incidents.”

The center is not intended to combat violence on any specific campus, Healy said, but across the nation as a whole.

“One of the things we learned on April 16, 2007, is that any issue that affects safety and security on campus affects everyone,” he said. “It’s not just about an isolated group.”

Lanzi said that the center would enable colleges to better deal with critical situations by establishing national guidelines and protocols.

“I think it’s going to make a huge difference,” he said. “It’s going to standardize the way campus law enforcement and public safety prepare themselves for future incidents, [from] weapons of mass destruction to shooters or just standard law-enforcement practices.”

The creation of the center may not be as critical to Princeton as to other campuses, though, Lanzi said, as Public Safety is an experienced, well organized force.

“We’re well trained,” he emphasized. “Obviously, we don’t carry any weapons, but we’re Princeton police officers, well trained, and we maintain that high level of training. I’m sure there are departments out there that have less training.”

Ultimately, maintaining a safe environment relies on every level of the University community, Healy said.

“Everybody has a role in what we do,” he explained. “Not just the campus police department. Everybody. Even you. Even the ‘Prince.’”