UCLA establishes task force to evaluate school’s emergency response procedures

This post was updated Feb. 9 at 11:05 p.m.
UCLA announced the creation of a task force to review the university’s emergency response protocols Monday following threats made to campus last week.
According to a UCLA press release, the task force will assess how the campus receives information about potential threats, how UCPD evaluates threats, and when relevant administrators and academic departments will be informed of potential threats. Additionally, the task force will reconsider the criteria and methods – such as BruinAlert – for notifying the UCLA community of emergencies.
“We are also committed to constantly improving our protocols for responding to these emergencies and taking the opportunity to reflect on what worked well and what could be improved,” Chancellor Gene Block said in the press release.
Last week, former philosophy lecturer Matthew Harris threatened several faculty and students. UCLA did not announce any changes to in-person instruction until later that evening, at least nine hours after the threats were first made.
The FBI arrested Harris on Thursday and charged him with making threats across state lines to harm or kidnap.
[Related: Students, classmate detail former UCLA lecturer’s pattern of disturbing behavior]
Law professor Stephen Yeazell will chair the task force, which will also include student representatives, according to the announcement. The task force will release a report publicizing its findings and recommendations on an unspecified date.