Florida Southern College is committed to providing maximum safety for its students, their families, faculty, staff and campus visitors. The College has a Campus Safety and Emergency Preparedness Plan that includes the following key initiatives to achieve this priority goal:

1. The College holds regular meetings with Lakeland Police Chief Roger Boatner and LPD officers to evaluate procedures for emergency response to the FSC campus and to make recommendations for enhancing campus safety.  The College implements new safety recommendations expediently.
2. The Office of Campus Safety is open and staffed 24-hours per day, and officers are available to escort students and campus visitors to facilities or to their vehicles upon request.
3. Florida Southern was one of the first colleges in the country to implement the Security Escort Notification System. This system utilizes key-ring-sized remotes that sound an alarm in the Office of Campus Safety when activated; the remotes have GPS sensors to identify the caller’s location. The Security Escort Remotes are required of all entering students.
4. The College has installed a warning siren that is capable of broadcasting an emergency tone in addition to verbal messages to the entire campus community and surrounding residential neighborhoods in the event of an emergency.
5. Florida Southern provides a complementary state-of-the-art notification system capable of sending notifications instantly and simultaneously to all registered mobile phones, Blackberry’s, wireless PDAs, pagers, Smart or Satellite phones and email.  This technology is one of FSC’s primary emergency notification systems. This system is available to students, faculty and staff.
6. The Lakeland Fire Department conducts an annual inspection of all campus facilities. Any and all fire safety violations cited in the Department’s Inspection Report are remedied immediately and documented by the College and included in the Inspection Report.
7. The LPD SWAT Team and the Lakeland Fire Department both conduct periodic safety drills and training on the FSC campus.  
8. The Office of Campus Safety maintains up-to-date floor plans of College buildings for use by the LPD, Fire Department, and Campus Safety personnel in the event an emergency should occur.  These departments conduct regular visits to the campus to familiarize themselves with the layout of the buildings.
9. All Resident Advisers must successfully complete a comprehensive 7-day training program that encompasses safety and emergency procedures.  Resident Advisers, in conjunction with the Office of Student Development and Office of Campus Safety, conduct regular fire, hurricane, and tornado drills with the students in their residence halls.
10. Residential hall exterior doors are equipped with electronic devices that sound an alarm in the Office of Campus Safety if the door is left propped open.  All residence hall main entries are equipped with personalized card reader door access to enhance security.
11. Surveillance cameras are positioned strategically around campus and are monitored in the Office of Campus Safety 24-hours per day.
12. The College conducts at least one annual after-dark campus safety walk with LPD officers, administrative staff, and student representatives to identify outdoor and exterior lighting needs.
13. The College’s comprehensive landscape master plan incorporates safety considerations such as the elimination of plantings where perpetrators could potentially hide.
14. Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are placed throughout campus in public venues, and two portable units are available at the Office of Campus Safety. Campus safety personnel, as well as coaches, athletic trainers, and other select staff have been trained in the use of these devices through the American Heart Association.
15. The College has just completed a revision of its chemical hygiene plan and appointed a new chemical safety officer.
16. In mid-October 2008, the College will participate in a campus-wide external audit for facilities compliance with environmental laws prior to the submission of our report to the Environmental Protection Agency.
17. Dr. Louis Saco, a member of the Florida Southern College Board of Trustees and Chairman & Chief Executive Office of Watson Clinic, serves as an adviser to the College on health-related matters, including communicable disease issues.