Colorado universities and colleges tried to reassure students Monday that security procedures aimed at preventing a Virginia Tech-type massacre are being closely followed.
Still, safety experts and university officials concede that even the most secure campuses are no match for someone absolutely bent on doing violence to themselves and others.
“I don’t think any university in the country has contingency plans for something as horrific as this,” said University of Colorado spokesman Bronson Hilliard.
At CU, police officers regularly train to deal with an “active shooter” situation such as the one at Virginia Tech, said CU police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley.
“We have policies and operations built around trying to minimize the amount of time harm is happening in the community, should such a situation like that come to Boulder,” Wiesley said. “And we spend a lot of time hoping and praying that we never need to use that training.”
Much of that training comes from the experiences of officers and the lessons learned at the Columbine High School tragedy nearly eight years ago. Columbine taught officers to act quickly to confront the shooter rather than to surround and contain him.
CU also has a plan in place to lock down buildings in the event of an emergency. Many of the buildings can be locked quickly through an electronic system.
At Colorado State University, police lead an emergency management group that meets monthly with housing, medical services and other campus officials to fine-tune their response to a crisis, said CSU spokesman Brad Bohlander.
At CSU, a 30-person campus police force regularly patrols the 1-square-mile main campus 24 hours a day. It includes uniformed cops on foot, on motorcycles and on bicycles.
Police also patrol dorms and can call on Fort Collins and Larimer County sheriff’s deputies if the situation warrants. “Our officers can be anywhere on campus in two to four minutes, maximum,” Bohlander said.
Campus lockdowns or evacuations are done on a case-by-case basis, Bohlander said, and students and faculty are notified through reverse 911. E-mail alerts also go out and officers search each building for danger, he said.
E-mails were sent to students at both CU and CSU Monday reminding them to be wary of any unusual situation or person and to be vigilant about locking dorm-room doors, Bohlander said. “Essentially, we are saying, ‘Let’s think about things and be extra careful,”‘ he said.
Security experts said most Colorado campuses do have viable plans in place to deal with most violent acts. But in many cases, even the best procedures can only reduce the damage a determined gunman can inflict, said Don Lindley, a former Denver police officer and professor of sociology and psychology at Regis University.
“There are avenues we can take to minimize the amount of destruction,” Lindley said. For instance, he said, campus security guards need to be better armed and trained to deal with intruders.
“Let’s start talking about protecting ourselves, for God’s sake,” Lindley said. “What do we need for us to get our heads out of the proverbial sand?”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
