Secure at ETH - even in the event of a threat

Violence at schools and universities is a recurring issue worldwide. For ETH Zurich, the safety of its students and employees is an important concern. For this reason, there are a number of structural, technical and organisational measures in place at our university to protect ETH members and guests in the best possible way. The ETH Threat Management Team is responsible for many of these measures.

What threat management does

Threat Management was founded in 2008 and is part of the Safety, Security, Health and Environment (SSHE) department. It is under the responsibility of Annette Hofmann, Head of SSHE. The aims of threat management are - briefly summarised:

• Protection from violence: to protect the mental and physical integrity of those affected.
• Recognising violent dynamics.
• Counter escalations at an early stage.

"Early intervention can defuse problems and conflicts before they escalate into violence," explains Andreas Romer, Deputy Head of the SSHE Security Section and member of the Threat Management Team at ETH. "It is therefore important to prevent a conflict whenever possible instead of fighting it."

In addition to Andreas Romer, the Threat Management Intervention Team also includes his SSHE colleagues Adrian Meier and Mathias Ehrensperger as well as psychologists. As a team, they clarify new threat reports and keep an eye on older cases. Depending on the case and the severity of the threat, representatives from HR, Academic Services, Student Services, Legal Office and Corporate Communications are consulted.

When to inform?

It is not always easy to assess whether and when to contact the Threat Management Team. "It is not uncommon for people to be unsure whether what they have observed is serious enough to report to us," explains Andreas Romer. Therefore: Do not hesitate to contact Threat Management in the following cases:

• If you are threatened or hear of threats against others.
• If you or someone else is being stalked.
• If you or someone close to you has been physically assaulted.
• If someone expresses suicidal thoughts.
• If you see weapons or there is talk of weapons in your presence.
• If you hear or read about extreme violent fantasies.
• And in general: if your gut feeling tells you that a behaviour could be very conspicuous and dangerous.

"In all these situations, it is important that at least one ETH member is involved in the reported incident," explains Andreas Romer. "Of course, we also provide advice and support in cases involving other people, but we have to refer them to other organisations."

Alerting in the event of an incident

Fortunately, there has never been a school shooting in Switzerland to date. Nevertheless, the Threat Management Team also deals with such cases. Technical, structural, and organisational measures have been implemented to minimise the extent of damage in the event of an incident.

ETH members can also make an important contribution here: in order to be informed and able to react quickly in the event of a rampage - but also in the event of a building evacuation, for example due to a fire or chemical accident - you should store your mobile number at www.adressen.ethz.ch (Personal and Communication Data ˃ Communication Data ˃ Mobile for Emergencies). In the event of an incident, you will receive a message via SMS. In addition, alerts are also communicated via e-mail, the EduApp (students) and - where possible and available - via landline telephony and loudspeaker systems.