WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner announced today that he will reintroduce the bipartisan CAMPUS Safety Act, which would consolidate existing federal campus safety programs into a single, National Center for Campus Public Safety, to strengthen training and research initiatives and improve collaboration. In addition, Sen. Warner wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today and urged him to utilize existing federal funds to establish this national center to aid campus and local law enforcement. Currently, campus public safety officers are the only first responders without a  comprehensive federal support resource to share  best practices, research and training.  

“The CAMPUS Safety Act creates a one-stop shop for quality research that will allow us to share best practices from around the country,” Sen. Warner said. “In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre and sporadic violence at campuses across the country, we should be able to take commonsense steps to make sure we are providing the safest possible campus environment for our students.” 

“This Center will empower campus law enforcement across the country with much needed training, research and best practices that will increase safety and help prevent campus violence,” said Joe Samaha, president of the VTV Family Outreach Foundation. “It will save lives, and afford future students a level of safety not afforded the 32 innocent students, including my daughter Reema, and faculty killed on April 16, 2007.”

“How many times do we have to look at tragedies such as Virginia Tech or Newtown before we make a commitment to the safety of our campuses?” asked Anne Glavin, Chief of Police at Cal State Northridge and President of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.  “I cannot look at the parents of a victim of campus violence and say we cannot afford to work to make your children safer.   We all can do more, should do more and that includes this modest federal commitment.   It just makes sense.”

The CAMPUS Safety Act has passed the House of Representatives in previous years under the leadership of Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3) and has been introduced in this Congress by Reps. Scott, Frank Wolf (R-VA-10) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD-7).