The University is committed to best practice in safety risk management as an integral part of good management.

1. Principles
2. Recommendations

The physical environment, movement of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, theft and assault and environmental related events (storms, lightning) all have an impact on the personal safety of those on our campus.

The establishment of the Risk Management Division in 2009, to cover internal audit, business risk management, and insurance services, recognises the increasing complexities, regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations facing the University. The University now has a cohesive, strategic and structured approach to managing risk.

UWA is committed to providing a safe and secure environment on campus through design and practices such as:

• building access control and intruder detection;
• well-developed services covering campus security; and
  
• personal safety and property protection.

Walksafe

The planned Emergency Call Points program and access control of buildings will improve security and personal safety.  As the campus and off-campus population increases, there is a growing risk of personal injury from the intermingling of transport modes – pedestrians, cyclists, service vehicles, public transport and general traffic.  Vehicle access control (remotely controlled barriers with inter-visibility and communications) will reduce the number of vehicles using the inner campus and enhance pedestrian safety.

The University has Emergency Plans and Procedures and a Critical Incident Management Plan in place.  Emergency response procedures (booklets, posters, emergency phone numbers) are displayed across the campus and included in staff and student inductions. The University has installed emergency warning systems, emergency control procedures and emergency control organisations.  A building-specific and campus-wide public address system would greatly assist in emergency related communications including for building lockdowns. 

It is envisaged that planned additional student accommodation will bring about more campus activity 24 hours a day the year round.  For safety and security, future planning should incorporate the principles of crime prevention through environmental design and use a scale and quality of development to stamp a ‘university city’ cultural brand on the area.

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Principles

1. Ensure the Crawley Campus has a high perceived and actual sense of safety for all students, staff, and the community. Develop a strong sense that The University is a safe place in which to visit, work and study.
2. Maintain the campus as a University without fences with strong intuitive wayfinding system across campus and through buildings, improving ease of access for all.

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Recommendations

Universal Access

• Integrate best practice universal access design principles into developments.
• Provide continuous pathways of travel for simplified access to buildings.
• Wayfinding to incorporate emergency access routes for all campus users.

Security

• Integrate crime prevention through environmental design principles and integrate risk management in asset acquisitions, including buildings.
• Provide passive surveillance of pedestrian paths and courtyards from buildings. For example locate staff offices and other populated spaces on building perimeters. Use opportunities to construct mixed use buildings on and off-campus to increase the hours of operation, and to provide surveillance.
• Establish a network of wide, well-lit pathways throughout campus. Avoid the placement of dense shrubbery and other ambush opportunities close to pedestrian pathways.
• Broaden the network of emergency contact points throughout the campus (and off campus at vulnerable locations, such as bus stops) connected back to Security.
• Protect inner campus and vulnerable pedestrian spaces from vehicles by the use of bollards, operable or fixed. Increase pedestrian safety with better separation from cycle routes and major traffic routes at entries to the University.
• Minimise the number of entrances to buildings to enable more effective security. Main entry doors and heavy traffic areas should naturally lead to reception or administrative offices.
• Locate meeting rooms and other public accessible spaces close to the building main entrance to minimise penetration of the building by non-occupants, and to allow more out-of-hours use of these spaces.

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