University officials working to perfect MU Alert system
The University of Missouri is apologizing again for lack of information in its MU Alert system.
Around 8:30 Thursday night, the MU police department sent out an alert about a robbery on campus, but didn’t specify where it happened.
“Last night, initial emergency text alerts sent by the University of Missouri Police Department did not include the location of the incident,” said Gary Ward, vice chancellor for operations. “We apologize; this omission was due to human error, and we take full responsibility. We have identified the cause for the error, and it has been corrected. We will meet today, and those involved with sending alert messages will review the processes in an endeavor to prevent a recurrence of this error in future emergency alerts. Safety is the No. 1 priority on our campus.”
Christian Basi, a university spokesperson, said they’re using a new software this school year for the alert system. He said it’s the police department’s responsibility to send out the initial alert message, which should include the location this year.
The university has received criticism from students in the past for not sending out alerts in a timely manner or for not sending alerts out to every single student.
Basi said this school year the MU Alerts will include a location in the alert message. The university will also send out an “All Clear” message when the scene is cleared.
MUPD, the Operations Department, and the Marketing & Communications Department met Friday to discuss Thursday night’s incident and the alert system procedures. Basi said no changes were made to the alert system operations.
The University plans to test it’s alert system sometime during the week of September 12.
