News

Vincennes Hires Oxygen Ed To Build Gang Activity Online Training

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 10/19/09

Vincennes University in Ohio has signed Oxygen Education to help its police department develop online training to teach school administrators, community leaders, and other police departments how to recognize and react to suspected gang activity. The project will be handled by Oxygen's custom content division.

The institution, which reported about 1,400 students in fall 2007, is funding the work with a $200,000 grant from the United States Department of Justice. "Understanding and responding to gang-related activity is an important skill that our community leaders need to learn," said Jim Jones, chief of Vincennes U's police department. "Oxygen Education's interactive course structure is an effective tool to deliver and cultivate the skills necessary for combating gang activity throughout our state."

The university's police department provides law enforcement and security to both the academic campus and the area adjacent. Crime on campus, according to the last publicly reported statistics in 2006, consisted primarily of burglary, motor vehicle theft, sex offenses, and liquor and drug law violations.