By SUSAN JONES
One of the questions that’s come out of the hoax active shooter calls at Hillman Library this week and nearby Central Catholic High School two weeks ago is how and when does Pitt’s lockdown system work.
“The police are going to make that call based on all the factors that they know,” said Ted Fritz, vice chancellor for public safety and emergency management, in an interview with the University Times this week.
The Central Catholic case involved reports of multiple shooters moving between different buildings, including Oakland Catholic on Craig Street. Because of that, a lockdown was put in place — the first at Pitt since the shootings at Western Psychiatric Hospital in 2012. In contrast, the Hillman incident was just in the one building, initially, and police had determined within 12 minutes that there was no shooter.
“(The Pitt Police) don’t have a policy that anytime you get a report of active shooter we just lock down everything,” Fritz said.
The idea of locking down campus buildings really took root after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, where the gunman moved between multiple buildings.
At Pitt, about 80 percent of campus buildings can be locked down remotely. The other 20 percent would have to be handled by building managers. At the Cathedral of Learning, the regular doors will lock automatically, but the revolving doors have to be secured by a guard. Fritz reminded everyone that if you receive a lockdown notification, you can always lock yourself in your own space.
He also referred everyone to the Pitt Police’s active shooter guidelines, which include a short video that everyone is encouraged to watch.
New construction has the remote capability, and it is often added when buildings are renovated. Lockdown capabilities in space Pitt leases varies depending on the wishes of the building owners and other tenants.
One of the issues confronted during the March 29 lockdown was that if you were outside when the buildings were closed, you couldn’t get in. During Faculty Assembly this week, law school faculty member Ben Bratman said he saw students tugging on the doors to get in during that incident.
Fritz said when that happens, people should move away from the area of the threat. For instance, if you were trying during the March 29 lockdown to get into Craig Hall, which is around the corner from Central Catholic, you should head past the Cathedral of Learning. But if you were at the Petersen Events Center, your risk is much different.
Once the buildings are locked down, only the police can use swipe cards to get in. “That's really for the reason that oftentimes the assailant is part of the community,” Fritz said.
He said reopening the buildings happens fairly quickly, but shutting off alarms and strobes can take some time because each control panel is different. He said Facilities Management and Integrated Security are looking at the best way to do that.
Another issue raised at Faculty Assembly was the lack of locks on some Cathedral of Learning classrooms. Fritz said they are adding electronic security to about 10 percent of those rooms each year and working through the Nationality Rooms now, which are quite challenging.
Should swipe entrances return?
“I think that's a constant question,” Fritz said. “It obviously involves a security component, but it's also a philosophical question. There are those that don't want to bar that open access that we enjoy as students, faculty and staff.
“What are we truly preventing — we're preventing a person that's not affiliated with Pitt from from coming in,” he said. “So yeah, that does give you some more security. But is making it safer?”
For it to be effective, there would also need to be guards at each entrance, like there is currently in Pitt’s residence halls, or else someone could just follow in a person with swipe access.
“As a public safety guy. I'm going to err on the side of more security,” he said, but noted that the expense would be great. “I also like to operate within the environment in which you're in. Pitt’s not a nuclear power plant or a bank.”
He said they are constantly reviewing security measures and adding where it makes sense. There is some new technology, Fritz said, with turnstiles that allow for a more unobtrusive flow while still limiting access to authorized people.
The BST3 building has a turnstile like this, but also has a guard. “As that technology becomes more perfected, I'm going to start looking at that, because it might allow us to put that security in place without relying so much on the human-guard presence.”
How to prepare
Fritz encouraged everyone to take the active killer training that Pitt Police offers. He also said maybe there’s a way through the Center for Teaching and Learning for faculty to get annual training on various security issues.
He noted the difference between lockdowns, which are for security purposes, and sheltering in place, which is often for environmental reasons, such as a release of harm chemicals.
He’s also like to put out a test every year to the Pittsburgh community that allows you to hear the various alarm messages that can be broadcast in buildings. These include messages for fire and security reasons that ask you to leave the building and one for security reasons to stay in the building.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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