TO: The University Community
FROM: Fountain Walker, Vice President of Global Campus Safety
RE: Campus Safety Update

Last semester, following several incidents of individuals gaining unauthorized access to student residence halls during November, NYU President Andrew Hamilton asked for a full-scale review of security protocols within the residence hall system. With the start of the new semester, I want to update the University community on our progress, steps taken, and planned actions. 

The Department of Campus Safety starts from the premise that our student residences are our students' homes, and even one unauthorized entry into the building is one too many. The November incidents involved three intruders and four residence halls, and resulted in the resignation of one Campus Safety Officer (CSO). In reviewing the incidents and looking ahead to how to prevent their recurrence, we assembled a team to review all residence halls’ administrative and operational activities that, in addition to the Campus Safety Department, included other relevant NYU offices—Campus Services, Facilities and Construction Management, Residential Life and Housing Services, Student Affairs—as well as consultation with student representatives of the Student Government Assembly and Inter-Residence Hall Council.  

Together, the team visited every student residence hall, spoke with student residents and residence hall staff, and reviewed the work of other universities in this area.

The team focused its attention on several key areas, including how the physical lay-out of the entrance affected the likelihood of unauthorized entry; how the various duties and responsibilities of CSOs might contribute to or detract from the key mission of prohibiting unauthorized access; how technology can deter unauthorized access and assist if there is an instance of unauthorized access; staffing levels; officer training; communications with building residents; and education.

Based on our review, we have added additional Campus Safety Officers in several locations:

In addition, through our building services vendor, we have added a loading dock position at Weinstein, given its particular issues, to monitor access through the loading dock area during garbage pick-up, deliveries, and other operations.

Cameras can be a valuable tool in identifying an intruder and determining his or her path through a building. Cameras provide an extra layer of security, as they can be monitored not only at the buildings themselves but also at Campus Safety’s Operation Centers. And, video from the cameras is recorded.
  
We have added or are in the process of adding 25 additional security cameras in 14 student residence halls. These cameras have been or are being installed at the main entrances of the 14 residence halls. 

Work on the camera installations is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.

Both the Department of Campus Safety (DCS) and Facilities and Construction Management (FCM) will start routinely testing emergency entrances and ADA compliant entrances to ensure alarms sound and notification of their opening is transmitted to the DCS post as well as the communications center.

Through the presence of furniture, sight-lines and the position of turnstiles, the physical lay-out of building entrances can have an impact on preventing unauthorized entry. In 2023, Rubin Hall’s lobby will be redesigned to enhance security.

All of NYU student residences have turnstiles to provide a physical barrier between authorized and unauthorized entrants. However, they are not all the same model; some are taller and harder to get through than others. The team recommended turnstile replacements for Gramercy Green and Carlyle Court, which will be done during 2023. We will also be looking at turnstile replacements or upgrades at five other locations: Alumni, Greenwich, 80 Lafayette, Broome St., and 2nd Street residence halls (there are some equipment availability issues which may affect turnstile replacement; we are striving to expedite purchasing and delivery).

Campus Safety will partner with FCM, Residential Life, Student Affairs, and other units to create a standing task force that will meet regularly on student residence safety issues.

Campus Safety will work with other NYU units—such as Residential Life and Public Affairs—to develop clear protocols for alerting and communicating with students when there is an unauthorized individual in a residence hall. In addition, Campus Safety, working with Student Affairs and Public Affairs, will launch a safety related communications/education campaign beginning in the spring 2023 semester, including guidance on reporting intruders.

DCS will introduce new training for Campus Safety Officers to re-emphasize the primacy of preventing unauthorized entry into student residence halls. This may include “stress testing” a building’s—and its CSO’s—preparedness and resiliency.

Lobby renovations are being planned and budgeted for Carlyle Court, Weinstein, and 7th St. between 2024 and 2028.

As much as the November incidents were a source of concern to students, their families, and residence hall staff, they were to me and my colleagues in Campus Safety, too.

We know that a secure environment is important to well-being and academic success. For Campus Safety personnel, making students feel—and be—safe in their residence halls is a grave responsibility, and one we take very seriously. We believe that this review, the lessons we have drawn from it, and the steps we are taking in response will be vital in establishing the safe environment we aim to create.