Every week, when the Creightonian comes out, I excitedly race to Skutt for a copy so I can read the Public Safety Report. The Report can be quite humorous and is sometimes the best part of the paper. However it often points out flaws in Creighton’s emergency response system.
Creighton has a lot of great aspects. Public Safety is not one of them. While on a personal level they can be quite helpful for minor issues, when it comes to emergency management, they need some work. As a Building Supervisor (BS) for Campus Recreation, I have experienced how poorly they respond on a regular basis.
Recently I was in the KFC during a fire alarm. I was not working at the time, but I stayed in the building to assist in clearing it.
The BS on duty was one of our most experienced, and he knew exactly what to do when the alarm sounded. He and the other employees performed fantastically, clearing the building exactly how they had been trained. All seemed to be going smoothly until two Public Safety officers arrived (about 10 minutes after the alarm first went off).
By then I had left the building, but after I was allowed back in, I asked the BS how it went. He recalled to me what happened when Public Safety arrived.
Without asking a single question—like where the fire was or whether the building had been cleared—and ignoring the BS, one Public Safety officer walked straight to the security box in the BS office and began pushing random buttons.
The building engineer (who actually knows how to use the system) walked in, watched the officer for a while, and then sarcastically stated, “When you want me to fix it, I’ll be in my office.” After the officer inadvertently froze the alarm system, the BS proceeded to find the engineer.
The other officer reportedly unlocked a broom closet, stepped inside, shut the door, and did not come out until the all clear was given. What he was doing in there, I can only guess.
Public Safety’s reluctance to answer emergency phone calls (it reportedly took about five rings even when the 2911 number was called), their absurdly slow response time and their unwillingness to analyze the situation from those who knew what was going on exemplifies their incompetence.
While this seems a bit ridiculous, it is actually a serious issue. We depend on Public Safety to keep us secure on campus. But after observing the aforementioned event, plus several of my own experiences with them while working at the fitness centers, I actually feel more at risk.
It makes me wonder whether it is even worth calling them in emergency situations. They are our first responders, yet Public Safety can barely handle a false alarm, let alone an actual fire. (We all remember the dumpster fire between Kiewit and Skutt. The Omaha Fire Department could have made it there faster than Public Safety responded.)
My lack of knowledge of the inner workings of Public Safety prevents me from suggesting a real solution; however something must be done about this issue. If Public Safety was half as good at responding to emergencies as they are at giving out unjustified parking tickets, Creighton would be a far safer place.
This opinion piece in no way reflects the views of Campus Recreation.