When it comes to the safety of students and staff at the University of Arizona, Vice President and Chief Safety Officer Steve Patterson says he is determined to handle the task with the fervor of his last job β a 24-year career with the FBI.
Hired in April of 2023, Patterson has hit the ground running, trying to identify what needs must be met for those on campus to feel safe and cared for, especially on the back of several stalking/groping incidents that occurred last month near the school and the 2022 shooting death of faculty member Thomas Meixner who was gunned down by a former student.
To diminish the potential for such incidents, the UAβs public safety office (created in 2023), launched the first campus-wide safety survey this spring in an attempt to gauge student, staff and faculty concerns regarding a multitude of public safety issues. Patterson said that these responses will help guide how the office works to improve campus safety.
The survey asked questions about public safety, the flow of emergency communications and sought input on future safety initiatives.
It was sent to all faculty, staff and students and 3,076 people responded, fewer than 5% of the campus population. The information will serve as a baseline for future surveys and will help to identify trends and improvements, Patterson said.
The survey found that 59% of respondents feel safe on campus. However, those who did not feel safe cited parking garages, buildings with broad public access and busy streets on the edge of campus as locations that have them feeling on edge.
This collection of data will be used to consider physical security upgrades in areas that worry students and staff members most.
Restricted access to buildings and security cameras are improvements respondents said would make them feel safer.
A majority of those who filled out the survey said they would like more focus on sexual assault awareness (72%) and mental health on campus (82%). Some of these initiatives are already in the works, Patterson said.
This spring, the safety office introduced the inaugural Wildcats Roar Against Sexual Violence 5K and Resource Fair to spread awareness and raise money for support services on campus.
When it comes to a guns on campus, there is a disparity between undergraduate students and their older counterparts. The survey shows that 81% of faculty and 79% of staff said they would report to campus police if they saw someone with a weapon on campus. Meanwhile, 59% of undergrad students report that they would notify police if they saw someone on campus with a weapon.
Graduate and undergraduate students are also less likely to contact UA police if they witness threatening behavior.
In addition to the survey, Patterson hired an outside security group to conduct an independent review of safety on campus. The review pointed out 33 areas of improvement. The rectification of these areas began immediately and the Office of Public Safety was born.
Patterson said that over the past two years, the safety office has been βintently focused on maintaining a safe and inclusive campus environment through our officeβs core values which are to promote safety, facilitate learning, empower through education, foster awareness, listen and respond, and increase transparency.β
Patterson said he is committed to improving safety on campus by talking to those who are on it.
This spring, Patterson offered students and staff to join him in βSafety Strolls with Steve,β where he explored campus with students to learn about their experiences, identify where they might not feel safe, and generate solutions.
Between these walks, and the survey, and his decades-long experience with the FBI, Patterson has a wealth of knowledge on what it takes to do his job and make a large college campus feel as safe as the small towns some of these young students have come from.
Next yearβs survey will let him know if it has worked.
βThe insights we gained have been and will continue to be invaluable to guiding our efforts,β Patterson said.
