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��ݮ��Ƶ ranks as one of the safest communities in the region, according to the low crime rates reported in the  2015 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. In addition, Biola became the first university in Southern California to hold a campus-wide lockdown drill.

The city of La Mirada, Calif. where Biola is located is ranked as one of the safest communities in the region. La Mirada contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department [LASD] for city law enforcement services. Biola’s Campus Safety works closely with LASD, however the campus safety department is the primary law enforcement agency on campus and its officers have full police officer powers of arrest while on duty.

“When we compare Biola's district to [La Mirada’s] other 12 crime reporting districts that are already deemed safe, we rank among the safest,” said ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Campus Safety Chief John Ojeisekhoba, who was recently named .

The 73-page report, released in October 2015, reveals strategies that Biola has developed to ensure the safety and preparedness of its students and employees.

The strategies used by Campus Safety include 24/7 proactive and aggressive patrolling of campus, consistent monitoring of crime trends in neighboring cities in order to prevent similar crimes on campus and the utilization of more than 140 cameras to monitor and record parking lots, dorm entrances, the library, the bookstore, and other public areas on Biola’s campus.

The number of security cameras on campus has risen in recent years compared to the 95 plus cameras reported to be on campus in 2011 — the increase in cameras comes along with an increase in security measures taken recently.

On Sept. 29, 2015 Biola conducted a first-of-its-kind campus-wide lockdown training exercise in conjunction with Biola’s Emergency Response Team and the La Mirada Sheriff’s station (LASD). The exercise was based on a hypothetical active shooter situation where students and all other members of the Biola community were encouraged to remain indoors for approximately 10 minutes. 

Nearly 95 percent of the campus was in lockdown mode within five minutes, which is considered very successful, according to LASD. Biola is one of the first and only universities nationwide to conduct a campus-wide lockdown drill.

“In light of the major increase in the number of active shooter incidents in schools and colleges across the United States, the ��ݮ��Ƶ Emergency Response Team along with the La Mirada Public Safety team and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have been working for years to prepare for the possibility of an incident on our campus,” said Ojeisekhoba. “The goals of this exercise are to educate the Biola community and to seek ways to improve our response capabilities.”

Continuing efforts to uphold campus safety, Biola recently hosted a meeting between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several other Southern California law enforcement organizations to discuss safety procedures in a university setting. At the meeting Ojeisekhoba shared information relating to the way his department keeps Biola safe.

“The Department of Campus Safety takes great pride in doing its best to ensure that the Biola community is safe,” Ojeisekhoba said.

Campus crime statistics associated with the federal government's student-right-to-know laws can be found on ��ݮ��Ƶ's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

Written by Brittney Morales, iBiola intern. For more information, contact Jenna Loumagne at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.