Wright State Police vehicle | Photograph by Soham Parikh | The Guardian
Since 2023 began, there have been over 50 mass shootings in the United States. Wright State’s Police Department has training programs to help students and staff be prepared in case of a threat.
Significance
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 54 mass shootings have taken place in the U.S. between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1 in 2023. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting event as having a minimum of four victims, excluding any shooter(s), who are either injured or killed.
Wright State Police Chief Kurt Holden explained that no shootings or active threats have happened on WSU’s campus thus far.
Prevention measures in place
The WSUPD has a Wright State Alert system to keep the campus community informed about safety levels and potential threats on campus. For more information or to manage a personal alert system, visit the WSU website regarding the notifications.
Holden explained that, since WSU has a full-service police department, the officers properly train for threats, including active shooters, every year. Emergency operations plans and policies are also reviewed by the department and updated regularly.
Emergency buttons are located across campus in the forms of towers and boxes, and even the elevators have the buttons, according to Holden. Once an individual presses the button, it immediately connects with the dispatch system, which runs for 24 hours.
WSUPD workshops
The Police Department at WSU offers “Run, Hide, Fight” classes every week. According to Holden, last year, over 1,000 students and staff attended one of these programs.
The training is virtual and only takes around 30 minutes, but WSUPD will conduct the activity in person upon request. This is just one of the many free safety programs that the university offers, with other comprehensive emergency safety operations plans as well as action plans for both Dayton and Lake campuses on the WSU emergency preparedness website.
Students and staff can find information about the training on personal WINGS accounts and watch this video on the training.
