Liberty’s emergency management strategy earns praise at national gathering of top universities

Liberty University Chief of Police Gerald Irwin and Director of Emergency Management & Community Engagement Jeffrey Hurtak served as keynote speakers at the University of Notre Dame’s Unified Response Symposium, held June 10-11 in Indiana.

The symposium is a leading public safety conference that allows institutions to glean from one another and offer actionable insights into strategies for managing security and operations during major campus events and critical incidents, according to the event’s webpage.

Police chiefs, emergency preparedness directors, and other security and public safety officers from 36 higher education institutions were represented, including Penn State, Purdue, Texas A&M, Florida State University, University of Kentucky, and more.

During their address, Irwin and Hurtak showcased Liberty’s innovative approach to public safety and emergency response during large-scale events and how it has positioned the university as a national leader among higher education institutions. They spoke on Liberty’s multifaceted safety tactic for football games, Commencement, and other large-scale campus events that require intense security preparation and ongoing monitoring.

“The purpose of this event was to learn from each other, and we did,” said Irwin, noting that it was an honor to network with large universities while representing Liberty, the only private institution in attendance.

Irwin and Hurtak showcased many of Liberty’s safety features, including the Champion Safe app, which contains a mobile blue light, interactive campus maps, emergency contacts, support resources, tracking for dispatchers, and a multitude of safety features accessible to all members of Liberty’s community.

They also shared how the Liberty University Police Department (LUPD) collaborates with the university’s emergency management team to minimize threats quickly and efficiently.

“If any emergency occurs, it’s all about seconds and minutes,” Hurtak said. “In an event, if it turns into an incident, we are already ready to go. It’s all about those seconds and minutes that matter, and if something occurs that causes a crisis, we are ready to serve, mitigate, and manage the situation.”

Under the leadership of Irwin and Hurtak and with the guidance of Vice President of Security & Public Safety Marcus Tinsley, Liberty has acquired an abundance of safety resources to aid swift response.

Liberty’s 7,000-acre campus is monitored using hundreds of highly efficient Avigilon security cameras that cover the grounds, building and highway entrances, elevators, classrooms, and hallways. Many cameras are equipped with robust license plate and face recognition software to aid an investigation, identify stolen vehicles, or catch suspicious solicitors before they commit a crime.

Liberty’s Office of Security & Public Safety partners with the School of Aeronautics Drone Team in deploying drones (operated by students trained in drone public safety) within minutes to provide aerial surveillance. This approach, Irwin said, can be especially valuable during traffic congestion caused by highway accidents, when passage to campus may be limited.

While Irwin and Hurtak spoke extensively about Liberty’s safety infrastructure and software at the symposium, they also spoke about their strict criteria for hiring staff. Irwin said new hires must have character, be attuned to Liberty’s Christ-centered mission, and have tremendous competence in their field.

Liberty’s safety specialists come from all sectors of the industry. The university has tactically trained dispatchers in its Emergency Operations Center, former SWAT team members, homicide investigators, child abuse crime specialists, and former highway patrol and state troopers from major cities across the country.

“We have credentials that are unlike anywhere else,” said Irwin, who retired as a captain from the City of Coral Springs Police Department in Florida and worked extensively in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting of Feb. 14, 2018.

Irwin noted that the presentation drew enthusiastic praise, even from representatives of universities much larger than Liberty. Several institutions requested further collaboration and ideas to strengthen their security measures.

“I pray that I can always plant a seed in someone’s life,” said Hurtak, who served as an officer in Miami and Gainesville, Florida before coming to Liberty. “I left this conference knowing that I did more than just talk about public safety — we planted the seed into these schools of who we are. We learned a lot from these institutions, and we were able to share the mission of Liberty University. It was a privilege to be an example for Liberty, and that was my biggest takeaway personally.”

Despite its above-average resources, procedures, and high-caliber staff, Irwin said Liberty’s safety teams are constantly looking for ways to improve.

“We are successful at what we do, but success is never a destination. It’s a never-ending journey,” Irwin said. “We will never do anything perfectly, but we will always strive to be better. … I want the parents (of students) to sleep soundly through the night knowing that Liberty University’s Office of Security & Public Safety will do everything in its power to keep their kids safe.”