New Program Emphasizes Prevention as Key to Campus Safety

UC has drafted and reviewed emergency and crisis plans for a long time, Ferrara said. The 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech prompted UC – and most universities – to thoroughly review and revise those plans.

"Our plans were very strong in preparation, response and recovery," Ferrara said. "We recognized that we needed to work on prevention."

That’s where the "Prevention Through Intervention" program comes in.

Violent incidents remain rare at universities, Ferrara said, but there are enough to realize that there is no specific profile for campus shooters. The strongest common characteristic is personal distress.

"Everyone in distress needs help," Ferrara said, "but only rare individuals in distress pick up a gun. The key is to get help for people in distress."

The University of Cincinnati has a wealth of resources available to assist students and employees, Ferrara said. The key to "Prevention Through Intervention" is to coordinate these resources, share information and recognize when extraordinary measures are needed.

"We discovered that there is a collection of UC services, almost a dozen, who regularly receive information reports about people in distress," Ferrara said. "Rather than create a completely new and additional process, ‘Prevention Through Intervention’ provides these offices with the tools they need to capture and share information so the university can respond effectively."

Even during its developmental phase over the last year, the "Prevention Through Intervention" program has been able to assist approximately 20 individuals through various kinds of intervention, according to Ferrara. Most importantly, none of these cases rose to a level where anyone was harmed.

Some people, Ferrara said, may be reluctant to call the police to report a hunch. "Prevention Through Intervention" allows them to call a counselor, student service office or employee assistance program. Evaluation there can determine if more help is needed for distressed individuals.

"Everyone at this university has a responsibility to keep this campus safe," Ferrara said. "’Prevention Through Intervention’ allows us to follow through quickly and humanely when someone is troubled."

Contact Points for "Prevention Through Intervention"

The following UC offices are part of the "Prevention Through Intervention" program. If you need advice and support or suspect that someone else may be in distress, contact one of the offices listed below. All incidents and reports are taken seriously. Reports may be made anonymously.