U. Police amp up security efforts after V. Tech deaths

Thursday — the day a suspected gunman reportedly shot and killed a Virginia Tech police officer — University Police Chief David Mitchell opened up his personal laptop to watch the live press conference.

It was more than four years after 32 people were killed in the April 16, 2007, shooting at Virginia Tech. And Mitchell said he was determined to take what was learned from these tragedies to ensure police are prepared should such an incident occur on this campus. It was time to update University Police's protocol, he said.

After reaching out to students on Thursday, University Police determined most resort to social media for up-to-date information. As a result, officers worked all Friday and Saturday to reconfigure the department's alert systems to incorporate Twitter and Facebook. Officers created two Twitter handles — @UMPD and @umpdALERTS — and a Facebook page for the University Police department.

University Police officials first developed the campus email and text message alert system in the aftermath of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. All students are automatically added to the email listserv and anyone can go to the University Police's website to sign up for the text message alerts.

However, Mitchell said last week's incidents showed police how crucial it is for officers to reach more students as quickly as possible.

"Technology is so powerful, and what happened at Virginia Tech was a tipping point for us," Mitchell said. "We all realized that this is what we needed to do. It's really important for us to have this kind of relationship with the students. "

And police said they are continuously adding to their emergency protocol system.

Should an incident similar to the recent shooting at Virginia Tech occur on this campus, officers would handle it like any other emergency situation, according to University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky. University Police would send out alerts immediately and sound the campus sirens for three-minute intervals, he said.

The sirens were built after a tornado ripped through campus and killed two students in 2001, and they sound for 30-second intervals as a test once a month. Limansky said if an incident were to coincidentally occur on the same day a test is scheduled, the situation would be handled like any other.

"We would still get the message out to everyone saying this is real and that there is an active shooter, or whatever the emergency is," Limansky said. "We would mitigate that situation by saying this is not a test, that this is an actual event. Steps would be taken to make sure everyone knows."

In the case of a shooter or source of danger inside a campus building, officers will be able to lock building doors with an electronic swipe system, which will allow only police officers to gain admittance to that specific location, Limansky said. The department would also use the Public Address systems on patrol cars, caution tape and any other means necessary to make sure all students know what is happening and what they should do.

Police would also inform several radio stations, including WMUC and 1640 AM, and update information through the department's website and the campus cable channel 76. The university's snow line (301-405-SNOW) would also play information on a recording for callers, he said.

Limansky added officers have practiced and memorized those steps so that everyone in the department knows the exact protocol for emergency events.

"First, officers would address the situation, and upon realizing that there is an imminent and continuing threat for the university community, we would activate our emergency notification system," he said. "The siren would be sounded so people would seek shelter. Then, people would receive texts and emails and hopefully check our new social media sites for more information."

And Mitchell said officers are convinced their system would be failproof in the event of a dangerous incident on this campus.

"We're confident that the system that we have works," he said.

egan@umdbk.com