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"He had no visitor's badge"

by Andrew Jones

"A Campus Response to Crisis," an article by Gregory Richter in the April 2014 issue of Security Management magazine, explains how a campus response team helps implement a university's violence prevention plan.

"One typical sunny afternoon in south Florida in 2013," Mr. Richter's story begins, "a man entered the administration building of a private university. The man walked straight by the receptionist, announcing the name of the university employee he came to see, and emphatically stating that the woman was his wife.

"The receptionist was concerned by the man’s demeanor. She noted that he was not wearing an employee ID and had not stopped to obtain a visitor’s badge. The receptionist called security and told them the employee’s name.

"Security contacted the employee, who informed them that she was in the midst of a divorce and that her husband was both verbally and physically abusive. Security called the police ... (who) escorted the man from university property without incident."

Mr. Richter writes that security’s second call had been to the university’s campus response team. "The team was notified by radio, and all team members in the administration building placed the facility in lockdown until the campus was cleared by security and by the police."

According to the article, the campus response team's roles include disseminating clear policies and procedures "designed to minimize access to the campus by intruders and unwanted persons. For example, students and employees must display I.D.'s while on campus property, and vehicle identification placards must be visible at all times.

"Additionally, other target-hardening methods are employed by the university, including limiting points of access to campus buildings and requiring all visitors to check in at reception and display visitor identification badges while on campus property."

An advertisement in this same magazine asks, "Do you know who is walking your halls?" The estranged husband in this story wore neither employee nor visitor identification; that, and his behavior, gave the receptionist cause to contact security personnel.