A Message from UHDPD Chief: Campus Safety in the Wake of UNC Charlotte Tragedy
To the UHD Community,
Once again, another institution of higher education has experienced a tragic shooting incident. Our thoughts are certainly with the community at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte at this time.
The University of Houston-Downtown Police Department (UHDPD) pays close attention to events such as these and strives to enhance its policies and procedures regarding active shooter events. Our command staff and officers work diligently to ensure, as much as possible, that UHD remains a safe place to learn, teach, and work.
UHDPD will continue to participate in training exercises that ensure its preparedness in the face of a crisis. And, the department participates in numerous Active Shooter trainings, working alongside other law enforcement agencies and first responders.
With UHD’s Office of Emergency Management, our department conducts training sessions on surviving an active shooter incident. These sessions are available for UHD offices, departments and students, and the Emergency Management website contains training videos specifically focused on how to respond to active shooter/hostile intruder events. The site also contains information on UHD’s Classroom Notification System and Classroom Lockdown System.
UHDPD also is engaged in police-specific training, including Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT), which focuses on rapidly suppressing a shooter or shooters and ending threats.
These trainings and the expertise of our officers are very important to UHD, but our community is UHDPD’s s greatest resource in maintaining campus safety. We need you to serve as our eyes and ears and to report unusual behavior or activity on or near campus by calling 713-221-8065 or 713-221-8911 (emergency). Community members also are encouraged to use the emergency call boxes located throughout campus and to sign up for alerts or use Twitter’s “Fast Follow” (text “follow UHD_Alerts” to 40404).
Please feel free to consult our Crime Prevention tips here, and let’s keep UHD Strong.
Sincerely,
Michael Benford
UHD Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police
The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) is the second-largest university in Houston and has served the educational needs of the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1974. As one of four distinct public universities in the University of Houston System, UHD is a comprehensive, four-year university led by President Loren J. Blanchard. Annually, UHD educates approximately 14,000 students, boasts more than 66,000 alumni, and offers 45 bachelor’s degrees, 12 master’s degrees, and 19 online programs within four colleges: Marilyn Davies College of Business, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Public Service, and College of Sciences and Technology. UHD has one of the lowest tuition rates in Texas.
U.S. News and World Report ranked UHD among the nation’s Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Applied Administration and Best Online Master’s Programs in Criminal Justice, as well as a Top Performer in Social Mobility. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranked UHD one of the best colleges in the U.S. for its 2024 rankings, with notable distinctions: No. 1 for diversity (tied) and No. 3 for student experience. The University is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a Minority-Serving Institution, and a Military Friendly School. For more information on the University of Houston-Downtown, visit uhd.edu.
