Safe as Houses

University Business talks to Bernadette Duncan, head of AUCSO's emergency planning project and Operational Services Manager at City University.

The Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO) exists to raise awareness of the evolving state of security in universities, research appropriate changes and make recommendations across the sector. AUCSO became a formal association in the 1980s following several years of informal meetings between security managers and like-minded colleagues from universities in the south of England. AUCSO provides a forum for its members to exchange knowledge and to keep up to date with crime trends, legislation and other information related to security services.

Bernadette Duncan is leading AUCSO's Emergency Management Project to look into future guidelines to help universities prepare for emergencies. She is also Security Manager at City University in London and told University Business about security at City: "Our key responsibilities are to provide a safe and secure environment for students, staff, visitors and to all those who work and live around the campus. We need to make sure we would be able to respond effectively to any emergency."

These responsibilities marry up to what she perceives as the biggest threats to students: "Threats vary from the theft of personal property such as bicycles, mobile phones, laptops etc, to the risks associated with communal living in halls of residence such as flu or meningitis. Perhaps a less obvious one is crime linked to alcohol. So the biggest threats to students are far from terrorist plots and are most effectively combated by straightforward precautions. Ms Duncan explains some of the policies in place at City: "Most halls of residence now have access control and CCTV to monitor entrances and grounds. Some halls have 24/7 reception services, which are sometimes covered by security staff. All our halls have a residents' contract, which includes policies on welfare, conduct and acceptable behaviour etc."

Budgeting for security is difficult as a great deal of security equipment is covered by the budgets for building refurbishments projects. However, it is still a substantial part of financial planning. Bernadette explains about managing City's security budget: "Our security budget last year was circa £800k but a lot of security hardware is now included within building refurbishment projects so that figure may be misleading. Our security staff are an important resource, so we rely on keeping reliable, well-trained staff who know the campus and we therefore spend a lot of resources on good staff recruitment, training and retention."

Bernadette is head of AUCSO's emergency management project, which will result in the production of a Guide to Emergency Planning and Management for the HE sector that will provide Security and Estates Managers with templates, references to best practice and ideas to produce their own local emergency plans and help them set up their emergency response teams.

Ms Duncan says: "It will be beneficial for everyone especially those who don't have a background or previous experience in emergency response. If we don't get our emergency response right, business continuity can be affected and that could cause more serious consequences for the university. Our thanks go to HEFCE [Higher Education Funding Council for England] for funding this project."

The issues surrounding security are manifold but the basics entail ensuring a good staff and facilities, and setting out to make students aware of the risks they face at university. This said, the current set of security issues facing the UK encourage universities to be prepared for the worst. AUCSO's guide to emergency planning will be a great help to universities that are instigating new policy.

For information visit http://www.aucso.org.uk