Survey: Campus Agencies Lack Staff, Weapons

Campus Safety magazine's "How Safe Is Your Campus?" survey also covers wages, officer morale, active shooter/bomber response preparedness, sexual assault policy, alcohol policy, resources and emergency management issues.

Nearly half of university/college police or security departments don't have enough staff or weapons to appropriately respond to incidents, according to a survey published by Campus Safety magazine, a sister publication of POLICE Magazine.

The magazine's "How Safe Is Your Campus?" survey also covers wages, officer morale, active shooter/bomber response preparedness, sexual assault policy, alcohol policy, resources and emergency management issues.

View the results from the Campus Safety's "How Safe Is Your Campus?" Survey

Some highlights from the study include:

Administrators Take Campus Public Safety Seriously

A significant percentage of college and university respondents indicate they are receiving good support from campus administration. Four out of five (80 percent) say their top administrators take safety and security on campus seriously, and 65 percent say they have enough authority to carry out their responsibilities appropriately. Still, that leaves more than one in four who either disagree somewhat or strongly with the statement: "I have enough authority to do my job well."

Lack of resources is another challenge, which, in light of the current economic recession, it's not surprising. Two in five say their institutions don't dedicate enough money, resources and personnel to campus safety and security efforts and technology. Still, 60 percent expect that the same or more resources will be dedicated to safety and security in 2011.

Emergency Preparedness Gets High Marks

University respondents generally express a high level of satisfaction with most aspects of their campus' emergency management programs.

Hazmat incident preparedness is the one significant weakness, however. Nearly a third of respondents (29 percent) either disagree somewhat or strongly with the statement "My campus is adequately prepared for a hazmat incident." One in five survey takers are not satisfied with their institution's emergency/crisis plans (20 percent) or weather emergency/ natural disaster preparedness (21 percent).

Click on the links below to see how survey takers responded to the following statements:

Editor's Note: Campus Safety Magazine is a sister publication of POLICE Magazine.

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