The Wellness and Health Promotion Services hosted an event to raise awareness about safety and wellness for Safe Knight Week at Memory Mall on Monday.
According to the RWC website, Safe Knight Week started 12 years ago as a partnership event between different departments to help students identify campus safety resources before they travel for spring break.
“We offer self-defense classes for our students, and it’s really important information to know, especially when it comes to mindset and awareness preparedness,” UCFPD Sgt. Matthew Scott said. “Even if the campus is empty because of a holiday, we’re always here, so even when students go home you’ll see the police department is still here, we're still walking to campus to ensure safety.”
This year, more than 20 departments within and outside the UCF area were present for the event to spread awareness about safety and wellness, recruit students to apply for their departments and explain their role in the community.Some of them included UCF Police Department, Student Health Services, the Recreation and Wellness Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, Orlando Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, UCF Cares, UCF Emergency Management and Victim Services.
All the law enforcement agencies that were present at the event showcased their first response vehicles. The Orlando Police Department showcased its helicopter and a SWAT vehicle, which is an armed vehicle used for special tactical situations.
Ryan Helton, a police officer for the Altamonte Springs Police Department and a flight officer for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, said that he works the infrared cameras on the helicopter whenever there’s a situation that requires it.
“Every time law enforcement needs a helicopter to find a missing person, they call us,” Helton said. “If it’s nighttime, we use the infrared camera that works on heat signatures and we’ll go based on the information that we have, that way we are able to find the missing person using the heat signature, then guide the police officers in the ground to the exact spot.”
Another organization that was present during the event was Bike/Walk Central Florida. It is a nonprofit organization focused on bike and pedestrian safety.
Jenna Mousseau, Bike/Walk Central Florida outreach coordinator, said that they are facilitating changes to keep people safe on the street with a program called Best Foot Forward.
“The mission of the program is to educate drivers on the Florida yield law that states drivers must stop for pedestrians when they are trying to cross the street,” Mousseau said. “We hope that by educating drivers to change their behavior, pedestrians can feel safer while walking on the crosswalks.”
Recruitment is also a big part of Safe Knight Week. During this event, the Orange County Fire Rescue Department used the opportunity to educate students on the behind-the-scenes of the fire department and potential recruitment.
Jacqueson Elie, Orange County Fire Rescue Department lieutenant and paramedic,said that many people don’t know much about the fire department besides the fact that they drive a fire truck. He said that there are people who work on dispatch that need to filter the calls and redirect them to the fire department for an emergency response.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi said that the FHP's main purpose is traffic safety on highways and state roads.
“Right now, for spring break, we have a bunch of troopers deployed across the state to Daytona Beach and Miami to help the local agencies and make sure they have all the resources they need, especially with traffic control,” Crescenzi said.
Elie also said that during football season, the OCFRD responds to a lot of calls on campus because of dehydration and car accidents.
“During games people are trying to get to places while being intoxicated, so we see a lot of that,” Elie said. “Also, there are a lot of students that migrate from different places like the north, so they are not used to the Florida heat and don’t hydrate enough, especially during summer.”
However, the UCF Department of Emergency Managementhas protocols in place for football season.
Bryan Garey, UCF emergency management and business continuity manager, said that when it's game day they activate the level two protocol, which means bringing first responders like OCFRD, UCFPD and some local intelligence agencies to keep the university safe.
“We're monitoring for hazards like thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds, and we're also watching for any manmade threats, like drones,” Garey said. “If we can detect something, we're able to use our mass notification system to announce that back.”
