JWCC Also Listed as Safest of all Colleges and Universities in Illinois; Fifth Overall Safest in the Country
John Wood Community College was recently ranked as the second safest community college in the country by the National Council for Home Safety and Security (NCHSS). The council also listed JWCC as the safest of all colleges and universities in Illinois and fifth overall safest in the nation.
Rankings were based on data from law enforcement and FBI crime reports comparing 490 colleges focused on crime rate of the campus and surrounding area and police adequacy.
“Student success is JWCC’s top priority and that begins with a safe environment,” JWCC Campus Police Chief and Dean of Operations Bill LaTour said. “This ranking is an indicator of the effort and investment the College has made to ensure campus safety. We strongly believe that it’s not enough for our staff, faculty and students to be safe, we want them all to feel safe as well.”
JWCC has a 100 percent sworn campus police department, comprised of four full-time and one-part-time officers, with a combined 125 years of police experience. Chief LaTour, Sergeant Sam Tedrow and Officers Doug McQuern and Jeff Grott previously served with the Quincy Police Department. Officer Charles McDonald is a retired Navy Veteran.
To support campus police, JWCC utilizes multiple security systems, training and has established partnerships and mutual aid agreements with city and state law enforcement agencies to protect students, staff and visitors.
The College utilizes a campus-wide video surveillance system; alarm systems including access control, intrusion, fire and mass notification, student blue light safety stations and trains students and employees in campus safety, active violence planning, workplace violence prevention and other security issues.
In addition, JWCC has a Behavioral Intervention Team, Violence Prevention Plan, Risk Management Plan, Campus Emergency Operations Plan and “silent witness” confidential reporting tool.
NCHSS is a national trade association comprised of licensed alarm installers, contractors, and other relevant trade groups across the United States. The goal of NCHSS is to further industry education and public knowledge by providing research, articles and reports about home security and safety. More information can be found at www.alarms.org.
