NEIU public safety officer Lieutenant Kruzynski stopped by the SGA meeting on Feb. 26 to discuss campus safety and the campus emergency plan in the wake of the NIU tragedy.
He says that there is a plan in place if something happens here on campus, and that there would be an “overwhelming response” in the event of an emergency. According to Kruzynski, there would be approximately 300 people here in less than an hour to assist.
He suggested that we have an emergency evacuation plan in every room in the school, which the room that the SGA meeting was held in (SU-219) did not have. He also brought it to everyone’s attention that if faced with an emergency situation on campus that requires immediate assistance, instead of dialing 911, we should call the Public Safety Office first, at extension 5511.
The purpose for this is if someone dials 911 and tells the operator they are at NEIU, they will be rerouted to another dispatcher to figure out exactly where that person is within the school. This adds additional time to the emergency response, time that may not be available in the event of an emergency. In the event of a fire, we are instructed to dial the extension 9911.
Kruzynski said that there is a plan in place to cover any incident that might occur, but that he didn’t wish to discuss these plans because it might compromise their efficiency. If the wrong person found out how public safety plans to respond to a certain emergency, that person might take advantage of the information and interfere with the emergency response.
We were also informed that public safety has an escort program in place, and if anyone wishes to be escorted anywhere on campus at anytime, all they have to do is inform them. Kruzynski requested that anyone who has an order of protection against a person should immediately contact the Public Safety Office and inform them of this, so that if the individual shows up on campus, they will be immediately arrested. He also suggests that all students in general walk in groups, especially outside and at night, to increase general campus safety.