Comprehensive
Standard 3.11.2
The institution
takes reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for
all members of the campus community. (Institutional
environment)
aCompliance ___Partial Compliance ___Non-Compliance
Narrative:
Lawson State Community College
takes reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for
all members of the campus community. The College takes
reasonable precautions for the safety of students, employees, visitors and
other constituents by promoting and developing an aggressive prevention and
safety education program for students and personnel employed by the
college. Campus
safety and security falls under the administrative domain of the Vice President
for Administrative and Student Affairs.
Direct responsibility for monitoring safety and security is assigned to
the Chief of Police and members of the Lawson State Police Department. (Organizational Chart) Additionally, a
variety of initiatives, policies and procedures are in place on both campuses
to provide a safe and orderly teaching and learning environment for student,
faculty, staff and other constituents. General safety information is provided to students, faculty
and staff. The Chief of Police
administers a safety program designed to decrease the occurrence of incidents
to college employees, constituents and property. A safety program is detailed
in the (Institutional Safety
Plan/Manual). Such a program includes but is not be limited
to:
1.
Safety
education within college or departmental groups on safety procedures.
2.
Enforcement
of all safety rules and practices.
3.
Safety
program training records.
Crime statistics
for the College as mandated by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act can be found on the college’s intranet
which is available to all faculty and staff.
These statistics are also discussed and distributed to students by
campus police during their bi-annual discussions with the PSY 100 Orientation
classes. Each semester, the Chief of
Police and/or his designee meet with each PSY 100 class to discuss a variety of
issues. (PSY 100 Syllabus) However, safety and security are the primary
issues discussed. As a part of this
discussion, safety booklets are provided for students. These include Taking Steps for Personal
Safety, Staying Safe on Campus
and Sexual Harassment on Campus. Other topics discussed include:
·
parking
information
·
identification
card requirements
·
emergency
telephone numbers
·
evacuation
procedures and
·
reporting
procedures
The
2007-2009 Student Catalog and Handbook
contains the following policies and procedures related to safety and security:
·
Motor-Vehicle, pages 43 – 44
·
Emergency Procedures and Fire Procedures, page 45
·
Tornado Evacuation Procedures, pages 45-46
·
Inclement Weather, page 46
The
Catalog/Handbook also contains the following policies related to safety and
security:
·
Drug and Alcohol Free Campus, page 48
·
No Discrimination/No Harassment, page 48
·
Sexual Harassment/Other Harassment and Discrimination Policies,
page 49
·
Life Threatening Illnesses Policy, page 50
Student conduct procedures are outlined in the 2007-2009 Student Catalog and Handbook pgs.
51-53. The college also
has policies related to student rights and complaints (2007-2009 Student
Catalog and Handbook, pgs. 53-55) to help preserve the orderly processes of the institution.
To further facilitate safety and security the
College uses the Emergency Management Plan
Manual to guide its actions with response procedures, hazard
responses, recovery procedures, site control and incident command
procedures. This Manual is located on the
college’s intranet and is accessible to all college employees. The College is committed to providing a safe
and secure teaching and learning environment in which students, faculty and
staff can learn and work free of disruptions.
The College maintains a Police Department
consisting of a Chief of Police, 10 certified police officers and 4 security
officers between the Bessemer and Birmingham campuses. The Campus Police Department provides 24
hour/7 days a week patrol of college campuses and facilities. Birmingham City Fire Station #25 (3015 Wilson
Road, Birmingham, AL 35221) is between the Birmingham East and West campuses on
property owned by the college and serves both campuses. Bessemer Fire Station #4 (495 Flint Hill
Road, Bessemer, AL 35020) serves the Bessemer Campus. Lawson State Community
College has a concurrent jurisdictional agreement with the City of Birmingham
where the college can prosecute misdemeanor offenses through the City of
Birmingham Municipal Court System. That means all misdemeanor arrestees are
processed through the Birmingham City Jail and all felony arrestees are
processed through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Departments Detention Center
and prosecuted through the Jefferson County District Court System. These
agreements negate the need for an on-campus detention facility or court system.
The college has an excellent working relationship with the City of Birmingham
Police Department in which the College’s Birmingham Campus has concurrent
jurisdiction. The College also has working relationships with all other area
police departments including the City of Bessemer Police Department. However, the College does not have the same
reciprocal agreement with the City of Bessemer. The College handles all felony
on-campus arrests and processes them through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s
Departments Bessemer Division Detention Facility. Those cases are prosecuted through the
Bessemer Division of the Jefferson County District Court. The College’s Police
Department has two trained investigators and a firearms instructor. As a police
department, the College can enlist the services of any of the neighboring
departments at the municipal, county, state or federal level.
All sworn police officers of the Lawson State
Community College Police Department are required by law to obtain at least
twelve hours of Alabama Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission
(APOSTC) approved training per calendar year and the Chief of Police is
required to obtain at least 20 hours of APOSTC Executive level continuing
education to maintain certification as well as pass an annual APOSTC firearms
qualification course. (2008 Training List)
Emergency notification
at Lawson State Community College is done through e-mail, Blackboard and the
telephone. The College has the “Cougar Alert
Emergency Notification System” named after the College’s mascot. Beginning spring 2009 semester, Lawson State
initiated a new emergency notification system
through a third party vendor. The
college chose the SCHOOLCAST INTERACTIVE VOICE REPSONSE SYSTEM. This system is intended for the immediate
transmission of specific information regarding an emergency to all affected
areas of the campus. The College can
transmit instant messages to all constituents of the campus community via
telephone contact information on file. Known as Cougar Alert, the
system allows students, faculty and staff to receive time-sensitive emergency
messages in the form of e-mail, voice and text messages. It supplements
existing means of emergency communication, including outdoor warning sirens and
severe weather alert radios.
The college has a Linux digital video
monitoring system that is located on the Birmingham and Bessemer campuses. The system monitors the Residential Living
Facility and the front entrances to the Gym on the Birmingham Campus. The features of this system make it easy to
customize a recording schedule. Continuous motion and sensor detection is
programmed using up to 24 schedules. In
the Residential Living Facility, there are 19 cameras inside the building and 5
outside the building. Each camera is
programmed to detect motion and can be adjusted for various levels of motion
sensitivity. Playback operations include
time and date searching, index searching and alarm list searching. There are two 64 camera displays on the Birmingham
Campus; one in the Residential Living Facility and the other in the Office of
the Chief of Police. The CMS is linked
to the local area network of the college.
With appropriate Internet Protocols (IP Address), persons may access the
system either in the Residential Living Facility, in the Office of the Chief of
Police or from any computer with access to the Internet.
The college has Automated External
Defibrillators (AED) placed at strategic locations around campus with police
officers as well as other campus personnel AED certified and trained in first
aid/CPR.
An outdoor warning notification is installed
on the West Campus as part of Lawson State Community College’s emergency
notification system. A siren will sound
in the event of a tornado or other severe weather whenever one should seek
immediate shelter.
There is a safety/security guide posted in
each building classroom on campus that includes emergency phone numbers and
procedures in the case of a crisis, accident or injury, or fire.
The following are prohibited
·
Bicycles,
skates, skateboards, or mopeds in the buildings
·
Gambling
or solicitation
·
Pets
(unless used as guide animals) or other animals
·
Use
of tobacco products inside the buildings – use designated smoking areas only
·
Possession
of alcohol
·
Possession
of guns, knives, and/or anything that may be deemed as a weapon
·
Possession
of drugs or any controlled, dangerous substances
Lawson State Community College is in
compliance with Alabama State Board of Education Policy 808.01: Student
Safety. This policy requires each
institution to have a campus safety committee.
The committee (Minutes)
will assure appropriate health and safety standards are maintained and that the
appropriate federal and state statutes are observed.
Documentation:
|
Documentation |
Location |
|
Organizational
chart for Safety and Security |
|
|
LSCC
Student Catalog and Handbook, pages 44-45, General Safety Information |
|
|
Institutional
Safety Plan/Manual |
|
|
Crime
Statistics |
|
|
PSY 100
Syllabus |
|
|
Taking
Steps for Personal Safety Booklet |
|
|
Staying
Safe On Campus Booklet |
|
|
Sexual
Harassment On Campus Booklet |
|
|
LSCC
Student Catalog/Handbook, pages 43-44 Motor-Vehicle policies |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
page 45 Emergency Procedures and Fire Procedures |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
pages 45-46 Tornado Evacuation Procedures |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
page 46 Inclement Weather |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
Drug and Alcohol Free Campus, page 48 |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
page 48 No Discrimination/No Harassment |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
page 49 Sexual Harassment/Other Harassment and Discrimination Policies |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
page 50 Life Threatening Illnesses Policy |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/Handbook,
pages51-53 Student Conduct
Procedures |
|
|
LSCC Student Catalog/handbook,
pages 53-55 Student Rights and
Discipline |
|
|
Emergency Plan Manual |
|
|
Professional Development
Training List for Campus Police |
|
|
Cougar Alert System |
|
|
Emergency Notification e-mail |
|
|
Safety,
Security and Environmental Committee Meeting, September 12, 2008 |