Santa Fe College Police has boosted its presence on campus following a shooting at Florida State University late last week.
While additional officers were not hired, the department did increase patrols around campus in an effort to be “far more visible,” said Santa Fe Police Chief Ed Book.
The increased patrols began Thursday after the FSU shooting at Strozier Library left three wounded — one of whom is still in serious condition — and the gunman, Myron May, dead.
To prepare for any type of emergency, Book said the department trains all year and stays alert.
“At Santa Fe, in general, there is a very heightened sense of awareness all the time,” Book said. “We do a tremendous amount of professional development and training with our staff and students.”
University Police spokesman Brad Barber said the department had not increased patrols as of the weekend.
One such way Book said Santa Fe Police train for emergency situations is through programs like “Frontline Safety, Front Line Service,” which focuses on protecting staff in confined and more vulnerable positions, like front desk managers and administrative personnel.
During the Association of Florida Colleges conference this year, Book said Santa Fe presented on “Frontline Safety” for other college police departments.
“We did the training for them — for the other colleges to show what we’re doing here at Santa Fe,” Book said, “so we know we’re a leader in the field in safety and security training.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 11/25/2014]
