North Carolina Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks visited UNC Greensboro Friday morning for a roundtable discussion about campus safety with students, staff, and UNCG police officers.
The visit was part of the Secretary’s outreach efforts throughout the month of June, which has been declared Safety Month in North Carolina. As Secretary, Hooks oversees a department of approximately 26,000 sworn law enforcement and civilian employees, along with 11,000 North Carolina National Guard soldiers.
The event kicked off with a screening of UNCG’s new safety video (see below) that has been shown to incoming students at orientation sessions throughout the summer. Hooks, along with Chief Deputy Secretary Casandra Skinner Hoekstra, then had the opportunity to talk about safety with students, staff, and UNCG Police.
“We’re taking a whole-of-government, whole-of-community approach – the idea that it takes everybody,” Hooks said. “Sometimes things can sound a little cliché. ‘See something, say something’ – that’s not a nursery rhyme. That is real, and that can save your life or save somebody that you care about.”
Hooks talked about the importance of working with local agencies to identify people who may fall into the pathway of violence. Speaking specifically about safety on campus, Hooks added, “We can’t provide quality education if we don’t have a safe environment.”
Students shared their experiences on campus and talked about the value of the LiveSafe app and other resources and programs offered by UNCG Police.
Sophomore Emma Brock, a music education major from Waxhaw, talked about her participation in the “Cops in the Caf” program, in which students are invited to share a meal and have an informal conversation with UNCG police officers. “They really are here for us,” she said.
For more information about safety at UNCG, visit police.uncg.edu and watch the video below.
To learn more about the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, visit ncdps.gov.
Photography by Martin W. Kane, University Communications
Videography by Grant Evan Gilliard, University Communications
