Campus Safety Department Assessment

August 29, 2006

To take stock of how the campus community thinks we are fulfilling our mission, we arranged with an independent expert to review the department. The assessment included a three-day site visit on March 28-30, 2006.

The review is also part of the Administration and Finance division's effort to help Occidental prepare for accreditation review.

Below is a summary of the assessment. You can also download the complete assessment in PDF format.

Assessment Summary

Purpose: Campus Safety is committed to service excellence. In order to take stock of how the campus thinks we are fulfilling our mission and to assist the institution in preparing for the upcoming WASC Accreditation, we arranged with an outside, independent expert to review the department. WSM Security Trainers and Consultants of Spencerport, NY, was selected. This firm had previously carried out reviews of campus safety programs at Hamilton, Skidmore, Colgate, Hobart and William Smith, and Muhlenberg.

Process: In order for the assessment to be complete, it was essential that the consultant meet with a wide variety of constituents. The assessment included a three-day site visit in March 2006. Bulletins were posted, e-mail messages sent and an External Program Review pages was set up on the Campus Safety website to inform the community of the assessment. A series of meetings was set up and participation was sought from departments that regularly interact with Campus Safety: Student Services, Emmons Health & Counseling Center, Hospitality Services, Facilities Management, and Human Resources. Other meetings were scheduled with faculty (2 sessions), staff and administrators, representatives of student clubs and organizations, Greek Council, ICC Staff and Program Assistants, and the Residential Education/Housing Staff. The consultant also attended a 10 p.m. hall spread with students attending from 3 residence halls and an evening meeting open to neighbors and other members of the college community. Participants of all meetings completed a satisfaction survey that became a part of the final report.

Findings: On a positive note, on page 4 of the final report, the consultant wrote: "The most extraordinary aspect of my assessment visit was the tremendous respect that the Campus Safety has earned on the Occidental campus. Time after time, individual members of the campus community would seek me out to tell me anecdotal stories of the immense passion and sincerity with which the members of the Campus Safety perform their respective daily duties. It is very clear that the Campus Safety Department is staffed with dedicated and loyal employees that are working to the best of their abilities with the amount of resources and support that they receive."

The consultant provided many recommendations for a well-run Campus Safety organization. Many of which have been implemented at Occidental for several years. Other recommended improvements include (but are not limited to):

  1. Staffing levels need to be increased to provide
    • Appropriate coverage for patrol and service
    • Adequate shift supervision
    • 24-hour dispatching
    • Clerical/administrative assistance
  2. Physical Security
    • Convert current yellow emergency phones to industry standard "blue light" system
    • Provide card access system for building security
    • Improve exterior lighting
    • Conduct annual survey with Facilities personnel to identify maintenance issues that affect security
  3. Crime Prevention
    • Increase training/development with Residence Hall staff
    • Provide more pro-active educational outreach opportunities for students, faculty and staff on crime/safety-related topics
    • Maintain high-visibility patrols
  4. Parking Management/Enforcement
    • Create no overnight parking areas to help with faculty/staff parking
    • Stricter consistent enforcement
    • Increase signage
    • Create a Parking Team
  5. Training
    • Develop a 3-5 year training plan
    • Increase training cooperatively with Residence Hall staff
    • Conduct additional emergency preparedness drills
    • Institute RAD training on campus
  6. Operational Issues
    • Establish a centralized Information Booth/Center identity
    • Conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey

All improvements recommended in the consultant's final report will be considered and progress will be made on implementing them when feasible. Those recommendations that are dependent upon increased resource allocations will be discussed within the College's established annual budget process.

Communication of Results: It is proposed to publish the above summary with a link to the complete report on the External Program Review on the Campus Safety website and widely distribute it to the greater campus community.

Prepared By: Hollis Nieto, Director of Campus Safety, July 12, 2006.