Nearly 800 professionals from every level of the campus security industry gathered at Campus Safety Conference (CSC) East in Washington, D.C., July 25-26, and CSC West in Long Beach, Calif., Aug. 9-10 to network and learn about effective safety and security strategies. Attendees from around the world took part in workshops, met with the industry’s top vendors in the sponsor showcases, and listened to expert panels and presentations on a variety of topics.
Check out the photos from CSC East & West!
“I was extremely impressed with the entire staff, as well as the presenters for both K-12 and higher ed,” said Johnny Rivera, a director of security for a private school in Virginia. “There was plenty of time to meet and greet with other directors from around the U.S. and discuss things that have or have not worked in their institution.”
Both events began with in-depth workshops on emergency preparedness and Clery Act training.
For the K-12 workshop at CSC East, Michael and Chris Dorn of Safe Havens International demonstrated the importance of quick thinking in stressful situations by putting attendees in a series of emergency scenarios and evaluating their responses.
“There’s no one procedure or system that keeps your school completely safe,” Michael Dorn told the crowd. “It takes a number of different policies, hardware, software, training and education for a truly effective approach to protecting your schools.”
Meanwhile at CSC East and West, representatives of the Clery Center for Security on Campus gave a condensed version of their training on compliance with the Clery Act, explaining practical action plans colleges can adopt and giving advice on submitting annual security reports, among other things.
Day two of the conferences began with panels featuring college police chiefs and K-12 security authorities.
“Just to see how other institutions operate is so valuable,” attendee Scott Williams, police chief at Hampden-Sydney College, said. “I’m from a small private college, so coming here and seeing how other people work, and explaining how we do things, means a lot both ways. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
Other presentations covered active shooter response, dating violence, underage drinking, crime prevention through environmental design, threat assessments and more.
Companies in the security industry also attended the events to show off their latest products in the exhibit halls.
“The Campus Safety Conference is one spot where you can rub shoulders with a lot of people, so you get a chance to see things from different perspectives at the same time,” Jamie Allard, a sales manager from Gunnebo, explained. “We go to schools and talk to specific people in similar roles, but at an event like this you get much more broad feedback. Everyone’s got the same goals, and we all understand what it takes to provide security.”
Additionally, Campus Safety magazine announced the winners of the Campus Safety Director of the Year Award. Stan Skipworth, Claremont University Consortium’s director of campus safety; Lisa Terry, University of North Carolina Health Care’s director of hospital police and transportation; and Kevin Wren, Rock Hill (S.C.) Schools’ director of campus security systems were this year’s winners.
Overall, many attendees said they had takeaways they planned to bring back to their institution.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Cunningham said. “That’s what it’s all about; getting better at doing our job and protecting our schools.”
For more information on this year’s Campus Safety Conferences, visit www.CampusSafetyConference.com. For more information on next year’s events, contact the Campus Safety Conference event department at [email protected] .
