VA Tech announces findings from internal investigations into shootings | 08.23.2007 | 08:53:54 | Views: 6686 | ID: August 23 '07: Virginia Tech officials announced they have concluded a series of three internal reviews which looked into the April 16 shooting which killed 32 people. In the announcement Tech President Charles Steger said the goal was "to look at strengths and weaknesses of our existing systems/infrastructure and how they may be improved or augmented to address emergency situations that might arise in the future." The internal reviews were mirrored by an external investigation commissioned by Virginia Governor Time Kaine. Steger said, "I asked for the creation of two different, but concurrent review processes. The external review commissioned by Governor Kaine is essentially investigatory in nature, while ours is a forward looking review of university policy, resources, and infrastructure through the prism of April 16." Broken down - the three internal reviews: the Security Infrastructure Group; the Information and Communications Infrastructure Group; and the Interface Group evaluated specific criteria which led to either a failure to respond, or provided ameliorative support for responder and security officials. Results for the Security Infrastructure Group found there to have been "good cooperation and sound agreements between Virginia Tech and local police, fire, and EMS jurisdictions .... a sound emergency preparedness plan; [and] engagement of the leadership in campus emergencies." The group also called for increased education about the ways in which the university's community can learn to prepare and respond to emergencies as well as increased drills, and those who can help coordinate response operations. The Information and Communications Infrastructure Group found that the university's communications' infrastructure handled a surge in communications "adequately" but that a "new fully integrated digital campus architecture for all telecommunications functions based on Internet Protocol" would help to mitigate future communications bottlenecks in the future. Additionally, integrated networks providing data-rich capabilities for selected first responders and campus officials would help in increasing communications capabilities. Finally, the Interface Group "looked at the policies, procedures, capabilities and interdepartmental relationships" which existed and which could be improved. It called for an expansion of the capacity of the response system; improving overall communication; and increased training as well as overall preparedness through fostering a stronger sense of community.
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