{"id":224194,"date":"2025-10-23T13:29:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T23:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=224194"},"modified":"2025-10-24T15:10:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T01:10:50","slug":"bit-wins-top-public-safety-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/23\/bit-wins-top-public-safety-award\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> West O\u02bbahu\u2019s Behavior Intervention Team wins top public safety award"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>u Director of Compliance Bev Baligad, center, receives an award on behalf of the campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span> Behavior Intervention Team<\/a> (BIT<\/abbr>) was named the Organization of the Year at the 40th annual TOP COP Hawaii awards luncheon, which honors the outstanding men and women of Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> law-enforcement and private-security community who exemplify courage, leadership and selfless service in keeping our islands safe. The mission of BIT<\/abbr> is to promote a safe and effective learning and working environment for current students and employees by assisting individuals who may be exhibiting concerning behaviors.<\/p>\n

“The efforts and leadership of the UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> Behavior Intervention Team serves as the catalyst and model for threat assessment and management team efforts in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>—both in the public and private sectors—and has allowed the state to benefit from federal and state funding (over $3.2 million) to continue those efforts through necessary grants,” said nominator Ed Howard, owner and CEO<\/abbr> of Pax Bello Security Solutions Hawaii, LLC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

At the awards ceremony on October 17, the UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> BIT<\/abbr> was recognized for pioneering proactive behavioral-threat-assessment strategies and promoting campus safety statewide. This year\u2019s celebration recognized organizations and individuals across Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> federal, state, county and private-security sectors, each nominated for acts of professionalism, bravery and dedication that go above and beyond the call of duty.<\/p>\n

“The UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> BIT<\/abbr> has been instrumental in paving the way for other threat assessment and management teams in the state since 2017,” said Bev Baligad, UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> director of compliance and manager\/chair, Behavior Intervention Team. “While our BIT<\/abbr> focuses primarily on violence prevention efforts within our campus, those efforts have provided positive ripple effects for communities within our state.”<\/p>\n

Established in 1985, TOP COP Hawaii is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public safety by recognizing excellence in law enforcement and private security and by awarding scholarships to students pursuing criminal-justice studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> team earns recognition for pioneering campus safety strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[911,59],"class_list":["post-224194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-program-recognition","tag-uh-west-oahu","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t