• DPS chief describes safety protocol, incidents
• Confirms notifications should have been sent after November incident involving grenade, knife
• Three types of alerts can be used

Department of Public Safety Chief Larry Rickard explained Marquette's emergency notification system as well as responses to several recent safety incidents in a presentation to the Marquette Student Government Senate last Thursday.

Early in the presentation, Rickard addressed concerns over the November standoff in a campus parking structure. According to Tribune reports from Nov. 15, 2007, a man with a knife and grenade attempted to rob a 19-year-old Marquette student at the Wells Street Parking Structure, 1240 W. Wells St. The Milwaukee Police Department detained the suspect three hours later at the Hilton Hotel, 509 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Rickard, who was out of town at the time of the incident, said DPS was seconds from sending a campus-wide text message alert when the suspect was apprehended by Milwaukee police. Rickard said students were not in immediate danger, but that he regrets students were not notified when the situation was under control, a responsibility shared by DPS and the Office of Marketing and Communication.

"TV stations were reporting on this," Rickard said. "The problem was that students were hearing about the situation from everyone but the university."

Rickard said he appreciated the Senate recommendation criticizing the lack of communication, but noted student safety is always his first concern.

"You don't need to put any pressure on me to keep you safe," he said.

Rickard also described a similar situation that took place last month. On Jan. 8, a man hit a female student with a stick in Parking Structure 1 in an attempt to steal her vehicle. The man was apprehended by DPS within 21 minutes of the incident, Rickard said.

Associate Director of DPS Capt. Russ Shaw, who was also at the meeting, said the situation did not warrant a safety alert because the suspect was apprehended.

"Safety alerts are used to report crimes with no suspect in custody," Shaw said.

According to Rickard, Marquette University News briefs, campus e-mail updates sent twice a week by the Office of Marketing and Communication, can be used for preventative information as well as general campus safety reminders. Campus Safety Alerts are notifications sent via e-mail and flyers to communicate on-going safety concerns, such as robbery and sexual assault. Text alerts are used only when an imminent and active danger exists.

"If we texted students about every robbery, they'd become desensitized and immune," he said. "The more you cry wolf, the less people pay attention."

MUSG President Brock Banks, a College of Arts & Sciences senior, asked Rickard how students would be informed about a defused situation in the future.

"I'm not sure how the information we missed with the November situation would fit into the three types of notification," Banks said

Rickard said an e-mail would be sent to students should an event similar to the November situation arise.