UT Police hosted a Campus Safety Town Hall for the MD Anderson community on Monday, June 20, 2022. The purpose for this and all future Campus Safety Town Hall’s will be to share crime prevention strategies, capabilities, and resources UT Police has to offer.

The focus for the inaugural Town Hall included active shooter response, theft on campus, the role of UT Police’s Threat Management Team, and hostile intruder training and security measures.

UT Police Chief William Adcox was absent for the presentation due to a prior speaking engagement, however, the executive leadership team including Assistant Chiefs Paul Cross, Assistant Chief Vicki King, Executive Director Ray Gerwitz, along with Captain Doran Preacher were in attendance to give vital information to MD Anderson’s workforce.

Assistant Chief Cross gave information on UT Police’s protocol during response to a hostile intruder. This information included drills, exercises, and first priorities. Emphasis was placed on the doctrine Run, Hide, Fight, that is utilized for non-clinical areas, administrative, and academic buildings. For patient areas, the doctrine of Avoid, Deny, Defend was reviewed. Lastly, Cross addressed what is asked for by police upon law enforcement’s arrival to an active shooter situation.

Captain Doran Preacher continued the presentation with a review of campus safety over the past several months. A crime update of the MD Anderson campus, which included crime trends was a focus. Captain Preacher addressed the rising trend of motor vehicle thefts and burglaries happening in the entire TMC area are now feeding into the campuses UT Police serves. High on the list of motor vehicle thefts include catalytic converters - a national epidemic due to the ease of theft and the worth of the precious metals that can be sold on the black market. Prevention tactics mentioned included the installation of a plate covering, or the engraving of VIN or license number to the catalytic converter itself.

Assistant Chief Vicki King gave an overview of UT Police’s Threat Management Team (TMT) and highlighted violence prevention via intervention. King showed the proven method of the process the team takes to protect people of the community once a call comes in. The goal of the TMT being, “to not have a situation get out of control or become an active shooter event,” stated King. 

Executive Director Ray Gerwitz ended the Campus Safety Town Hall with reminders of campus safety. Gerwitz spoke to the importance of everyone's participation in the safety of the institution. He went on to share the UT Police Combined Protection Model, and highlighted risk management, behind-the-scenes actions of UT Police, and protecting unauthorized access into the buildings on campus. Gerwitz next discussed the Workplace Violence Prevention Program. He addressed updates on the completion of a gap analysis to measure alignment with new Joint Commission Standards by partnering with Patient Safety, and conducting interviews with over 40 leaders of the institution. Lastly, he discussed the model of prevention, preparedness, and protection when it comes to a hostile intruder situation.

Resources:

Campus safety

Weekly virtual safety classes

Threat Management Team