Campus security operations centers (SOCs), emergency operations centers (EOCs), command posts, and dispatch centers have some functions that overlap, but there are also some significant differences. SOCs might focus more on managing security camera feeds, campus alarm systems, access control, and emergency notifications. EOCs often are off-site and manage resources and policy issues during large-scale events and disasters, such as floods, wildfires, and pandemics. Command posts usually manage on-site incident command when major criminal activity, fires, or a big event, such as a football game is happening. Dispatch handles the day-to-day calls as well as emergency calls that come into a campus public safety department.
So, which of these emergency communications and response options should your organization adopt? Should you adopt all of them in some form?
Should your organization partner with other campuses or with local or state government EOCs and law enforcement dispatch centers to bolster your department’s ability to respond to incidents? When is it appropriate to do so, and when is it not? If you are a small campus, does your dispatch center need to operate 24/7, or just during class hours? Should you contract with a call center to manage calls from worried parents, family, friends, and the general public during large-scale emergencies? Should you hire a central station to manage your security system alarms and sensors? Does having a non-sworn department versus a sworn department impact your decision?
In this webcast, Campus Safety will speak with Biola University Associate Vice President and Chief of Campus Safety John Ojeiskhoba Sr., and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Retired Police Chief Daniel Dusseau about the wide range of emergency communications and response center options available to campuses.
Attendees will learn about:
- The wide variety of combinations of SOCs, EOCs, command posts, and dispatch centers that are in use today by campuses, and the pros and cons of these combos.
- Lessons learned on setting up a remote emergency operations center during the pandemic.
- How the various combinations are applied for incidents and special events.
- And much more.
