Hannah was a student at Pensacola State College (PSC) about four years ago. Because of my position as an administrator at PSC, I would see Hannah almost every day in the Ashmore Fine Arts Building where my office is located. She was a music major and also the student assistant to an Ashmore colleague who directs the school’s guitar program. Bright and personable, Hannah was the kind of young person whose sunny disposition could always lift your spirits.

Like millions of others, Hannah believed she was safe in the home-away-from-home environment that college campuses can become for full-time students, especially those who also have campus employment as Hannah did. Sadly, this notion often leads to a false sense of security—something that can be especially dangerous for female students.

Though fellow students can sometimes pose a risk, some of the worst incidents are perpetrated by people from the “outside world.” I frequently remind students in the Ashmore Building that there is no invisible barrier that prevents thieves from strolling across the campus and through buildings, searching for that unattended laptop or iPod. Often, they look at me as if that was something that had never occurred to them.

But there are worse crimes than theft.

I still remember the day I saw Hannah in the Ashmore main office, still shaken as she related an incident that had just occurred in another building on campus. A young man had confronted her as she exited the ladies restroom and, to hear Hannah tell it, his attitude had been aggressive to the point of harassment. She said he was young—the age of a typical college student—which meant he hadn’t attracted any special attention by being in the building. Criminals know these things—know they can walk around the average college campus with relative impunity as long as they look and act the part.

Hannah reported the incident to campus security but, as we would find out soon enough, it was too late to prevent the man from carrying out an assault a short time later in the very same restroom from which Hannah had emerged. However, thanks to Hannah’s report and quick movement by PSC security personnel, the perpetrator was apprehended before he could exit the campus.

School Training Solutions (STS) offers a comprehensive Campus Security program that is custom designed to enhance the credentials and readiness of campus security professionals. These vital personnel can never have too much training when it comes to keeping campus environments safe, and the STS coursework covers every subject. Ethical behavior and core values, public event security, cross-cultural communication, crime scene preservation, and victim/witness awareness are among the many topics included.

Andrew Metzger
Guest blogger
School Training Solutions