Public Safety Training Course On Weapons Of Mass Destruction

FAIRFIELD — Linda Maloney, director of the Department of Public Safety at Sacred Heart University, recently announced that the department would be hosting a one-day training course concerning Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) on Tuesday, October 12, on the main campus of Sacred Heart University.

The training is funded by a grant awarded to the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) by the federal Department of Homeland Security, Office for Domestic Preparedness.

Over the next two years, the $2 million grant will provide for 500 class sessions, resulting in the initial training of nearly 30,000 first responders from campuses throughout the United States.

 The course curriculum was developed by the National Center for Biomedical Research & Training, Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education. The academy has already trained hundreds of campus law enforcement and public safety officers nationwide to deliver the WMD training.

IACLEA President Kenneth A. Willett, public safety director for the University of Montana, said that this marks the first time campus public safety has been recognized, on this scale, for direct receipt of federal training dollars. “Traditionally, we had been left out of the loop for this type of training for our officers,” he noted. “Fortunately, the enormous vulnerability inherent in a campus environment is now being recognized by the funding agencies.”

There are more than 4,000 college and universities in the United States. Collectively, these campuses represent a community equal to the population of some states. Campus populations vary less than 1,000 to those that exceed 50,000 people. Often, the campus is larger than the city in which it is located.

For more information, visit www.sacredheart.edu.