MMA implements security measures Virginia Tech massacre spurs changes

CASTINE – Like many other colleges around the country and in the state responding to the violence at Virginia Tech last spring, Maine Maritime Academy will begin the year with more stringent security measures and a new emergency communications system.

The changes come after a review of the campus safety and security plans and procedures that has involved not only MMA officials, but county and state emergency officers as well as town officials, according to Jeff Loustaunau, vice president for enrollment management and commandant of midshipmen. The plans include some short-term changes with others likely to be implemented in the future.

MMA is a much smaller campus than many other schools around the state, which allows someone wishing to do harm quick access to campus buildings, said Tom Perkins, MMA’s director of security.

“On a campus this small, someone can get to places a lot quicker,” Perkins said. “They can cover the whole campus in a short time. So we don’t have the luxury of time.”

But because the campus is small, notifying people of an emergency can also be done quickly.

“We can respond quickly,” he said. “We can lock down a building in a few minutes.”

One of the criticisms leveled at officials at Virginia Tech was that they failed to inform students and faculty quickly. MMA officials have established a system to communicate instantly with students and faculty, according to Loustaunau. The system includes technology that allows officials to notify students and faculty of a threat through telephones and e-mail instantly. In addition, security vehicles are equipped with an alarm and a loud speaker.

College officials considered a text message system similar to the one the University of Maine has instituted at Orono. But cell phone reception is so spotty throughout the town that a system like that would not be reliable, Loustaunau said.

The emergency communications system will be in place beginning today, but Perkins said he also hopes to establish a central answering point using trained people to answer all calls coming into the campus.

“We want those employees to be able to respond to any kind of an emergency,” he said. “We want them to know what to do and what the plan is.”

Perkins said he is working on getting the infrastructure in place and within the next couple of weeks should be able to begin hiring people for those positions.

The central answering point will be located in Leavitt Hall, the college’s main administration building. That area would become an operations center in the event of a campus emergency, Perkins said.

The college has adopted the National Incident Management System used by most emergency response agencies for the campus. That system includes a crisis management protocol that establishes an incident command center involving operations, logistics and communications, Loustaunau said. The system provides a framework for campus security to follow in an emergency, and makes it easier for outside agencies to work with college officials.

“If we had an incident that required us to bring in EMS, the state police or the Coast Guard, they would be able to integrate into the campus easily,” he said. “We’re so much better prepared to do that than we were a year ago.”

MMA’s campus differs from many others because it includes a waterfront area and the 500-foot training vessel. The ship, however, does not pose any additional concerns, Loustaunau said, mainly because it has its own security system in place. That system, required by the Coast Guard and tested regularly, includes a single point of access and a college ID required for entrance onto the vessel.

The college, in fact, is adapting some of the ship’s security measures to the rest of the campus, including Curtis Hall, the main dormitory on campus. Changes in security at Curtis Hall may be the most noticeable change as students come back to campus.

Curtis Hall was never designed for 21st century security concerns, Perkins said, and Loustaunau noted that the college has tried to be careful in making changes.

“We have to remember that this is home to 550 students,” he said. “We don’t want this to become a compound; we want to maintain a living and residence environment. We’re walking a fine line.”

The challenge, Perkins added, is to balance the needs of the people and keep them secure and safe at all times.

This year, the general public will no longer have access to the dormitory and only students with residence hall room keys will be allowed to access locked doors. Access will be limited to six designated secure doors.

The main entrance will not be locked, but students must show MMA identification to enter.

One of the key criticisms of Virginia Tech, where 33 people including the gunman were killed April 16, was that the shooter was allowed to slip through the system. A benefit of a small campus has been that a new community policing system has allowed security officers to interact more with students and with faculty. The information security officers receive from students and staff has helped to avert potential problems, Perkins said.

“We have good communication, so we can stop things when they’re still small,” he said. “A small incident can rise to a level quickly and escalate to the point where it endangers more people. We’re able to stop a lot of things before they rise to the level of becoming a danger.”