SMC Campus Safety Chief Participates In National Program To Combat Crime Against Women

09/25/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Chicago, IL - Spartanburg Methodist College Chief of Campus Safety Teresa D. Ferguson was one of 25 law enforcement executives from across the country to recently participate in a National Law Enforcement Leadership Institute on Violence Against Women hosted by The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

The IACP hosted the Institute to help raise the response to violence against women crimes higher on law enforcement's agenda and support the adoption of best practices by the officers in the SMC Campus Safety department.

"During the Institute, I worked with the Sexual Assault Investigation Group to review the current IACP Model Policy. As a result, I brought back several components to add to our policy on Procedures for Responding to Sexual Assaults on Campus," says Ferguson, who is in her fourth year as Chief of the SMC Campus Safety department.

During the three-day Institute, held in Chicago, Ferguson and fellow participants explored innovative approaches for investigating crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Additional attention centered on assessing agency performance and sharing challenges and solutions with law enforcement colleagues.

"The Institute was intense, but forced me to think critically about my agency's practices and develop several action plans to build on our policies and procedures regarding violence against women," adds Ferguson.

In an effort to help law enforcement agencies enhance their response to crimes of violence against women, the Institute focused on planning and methods for effective resource allocation to help crime victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

The participating law enforcement executives engaged in the development of action plans throughout the Institute in order to adopt new strategies for pro-active coordinated community collaboration upon returning to their departments. Expenses for Ferguson and the Institute's other participants were covered under a grant to the IACP from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women.

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The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the world's oldest and largest non-profit membership organization of police executives, with over 21,000 members in 100 different countries. IACP's membership consists of the operating chief executives of international, federal, Tribal, state, campus, and local agencies of all sizes. Please visit www.theiacp.org for more information.

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 99th academic year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, please contact Chief Teresa Ferguson at (864) 587-4003 or fergusont@smcsc.edu; or IACP Project Manager Michael Rizzo at (800) TheIACP ext. 818

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