Read in-depth about the campus security report released in March detailing how the school handled the events before, during and after the Oct. 5 shooting

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 they are planning to implement immediately.

Lastly, the university has started comparing policies from other PAC-12 universities to help establish a centralized security camera policy.

By centralizing the security cameras on campus it allows all university units with security cameras to adhere to one institutional standard.

One recommendation handed down from the PAX Group regarding University Crisis Response is for CAPS to develop a, “six-month, strategic post-crisis plan from the CAPS and Life & Work Connections, Human Resources, and Marketing & Communications teams.”

University of Arizona Police Department

The PAX report outlined numerous flaws in law enforcement’s response to Dervish’s behavior before the shooting, finding that “there were multiple missed opportunities by UAPD to engage, disrupt, or arrest [Dervish] prior to the incident.”

The report identified multiple violations of the terms of Dervish’s expulsion that could have resulted in his arrest, including coming onto campus and messaging faculty members after being prohibited from doing so.

PAX reported that UAPD did attempt to arrest Dervish once in April, but failed to apprehend him because he refused to come out of his residence.

PAX also highlighted a clear disconnect between the Tucson Police Department and UAPD. Before the shooting, TPD received a tip from a handgun seller who refused to sell Dervish a handgun because

Dervish informed him that he was going to use it to kill himself and others. UAPD did not know that this interaction occurred until after the incident because TPD did not inform them.

In addition to UAPD and TPD failing to communicate, the Pima County Constables’ Office failed to serve Dervish with an order of protection filed by a HAS faculty member. The order of protection was filed after Dervish continually harassed multiple faculty members both over electronic communications and on one occasion, after the expulsion in person.

In addition, PAX stated that the university community’s attitude towards law enforcement has changed along with “national dialogue regarding law enforcement,” and reiterated a 2021 report’s findings that identified “the need for a cohesive strategy for community and stakeholder engagement, and enhanced transparency.”

PAX did not explicitly refer to a catalyst in this attitude change, but paradigm shifts such as the Black Lives Matter movement were a significant catalyst in sparking “national dialogue” about law enforcement agents and procedures in recent years.

This has resulted in many Americans, especially historically discriminatedagainst groups, becoming wary of law enforcement on a national scale.

Overall, PAX suggested that the university must take steps to improve inter-agency cooperation between UAPD and local law enforcement in addition to increasing community outreach to repair community sentiment towards law enforcement.

Communications

The report identified flaws with both how the university communicates internally and with the community.

It states that a vacuum of information was created during “critical, early moments in managing the threat” because the “communications at the University [are] decentralized across all departments, including the President’s office and UAPD.”

PAX primarily discussed flaws in the UAlert system, stating that many students and staff members didn’t receive the alerts because of subscription errors. They noted that in the university’s email system, “mass emails are often identified as spam on the university’s server,” resulting in a “5-15 minute buffer or delay before the system could identify the mass UAlert email as not spam.”

While the UAlerts were delivered eventually, 5-15 minutes can be critical in an active shooter situation.

At Monday’s press conference, Robbins revealed that he was in Washington D.C. during the shooting, and did not receive a UAlert himself because of a problem with his subscription.

“I didn’t renew [the UAlert subscription] in a timely manner so I was eliminated from the list,” Robbins said.

The report also discussed a statement by the Chief of Police after the shooting, describing it as something “you can’t even predict,” and telling the community to “see something, say something” and to “do something.”

This statement made it evident that the Chief of Police was not properly informed of the numerous complaints and requests for help by HAS and the student body, Dervish’s multiple violations of his expulsion, Dervish’s history of harassment at San Diego State University and Dervish’s failed attempt to purchase a handgun from the online vendor.

As the report stated, the statement “angered those who had been asking UAPD to arrest the Subject for nearly one year.”

The report called on the university to update the UAlert system, create a plan to centralize communications to maintain consistency during emergencies and develop preplanned responses that can be quickly tailored to the specifics of a situation.

Additional comments from Robbins

Throughout the conference, Robbins noted that he holds himself personally responsible for the systemic failures that allowed for the continuous harassment by Dervish.

“I am angry at myself that I did not do more to prevent this tragedy,” Robbins said.

He informed the press that implementing the recommendations of the report will take time and cooperation from the entire community.

“There are gonna be many detailed and very difficult conversations that are going to need to be had in the coming weeks and months,” Robbins said.

Robbins ultimately acknowledged that there was a lot of work to be done, but that “together with our faculty, students, staff and campus security efforts, the University of Arizona is already safer than it was in October.”