A recent series of local crimes occurring on campus have spurred new safety procedures for the fall semester and have sent students a wake-up call to use common sense.
VCU police say campus safety is mostly dependent on students using good judgement.
“I can’t emphasize enough keeping it simple: observing and reporting,” said Capt. Grant Warren, director of VCU safety and security.
Warren referenced two carjackings that occurred in a VCU parking garage on June 5. He said these incidents are prime examples of using common sense to increase safety: The carjacking was observed, was quickly reported, and the suspect was caught within the same day.
Warren said the city of Richmond and particularly VCU suffer from inaccurate perceptions of crime in Richmond.
“Ninety-six percent of our crime is property crime,” Warren said.
Yet for the 4 percent of crime that is non-theft, many students think common-sense advice isn’t enough. That’s why, says Pam Lepley, director of VCU’s University News Services, VCU is implementing new safety alert procedures in the fall.
Beginning in the fall 2007 semester, VCU will implement new procedures that will inform students within minutes of an emergency situation. Lepley says these new capabilities will include text messaging; electronic display alerts in the University Student Commons, libraries and dorms; and siren alarms that can be set off within minutes of an emergency situation.
Previously, students were alerted of emergency situations via a mass e-mail. Lepley says it could take up to an hour and a half to reach VCU’s large student body, which surpassed 30,000 students last year.
Students will receive an informational e-mail before the fall semester begins, Lepley says, as well as a printed letter in the mail explaining how to sign up for the text messaging emergency system.
Some VCU students say the downtown setting is not alarming; safety is just something they keep in mind on an ongoing basis.
Lucie Franklin, a senior majoring in psychology and advertising, says she had worries when enrolling at VCU, but safety is no longer a concern.
“When I first came to VCU, I was a little nervous about being in such a large school … My first day, I came equipped with mace attached to my keys,” Franklin said. “After that first semester, I ditched the mace. I never had any need to use it … Although VCU is so large, everyday I seem to see familiar faces. I love VCU, and I love being in the city.”
VCU police provide a free escort service by calling 828-WALK. Almost 300 yellow emergency telephones are located throughout the campus, and classrooms are equipt with panic buttons.
Warren says one of the most effective ways VCU promotes crime prevention is through a safety awareness program called Campus Watch. VCU police also provide dorm security and a 24-hour campus patrol by uniformed VCU officers.
Blaid Mbiyangandu, a biology major, says these services have provided him with a sense of safety amid the danger of a big city.
“VCU has … done a good job protecting its more than 30,000 student body,” Mbiyangandu said. “Features such as the escort, the VCU police and its strict on-campus housing regulations provide one of the best campus securities.”
Warren has specific advice for freshmen and transfer students.
“(They) should not believe they are invincible and (they should) take their personal safety seriously. Be alert and aware. Observe what is going on around them and report it to the campus police,” he said.
Franklin suggests practical ideas for safety.
“At night, I’m cautious walking to my car. … Exercising common sense, and being aware of your surroundings is never a bad idea,” Franklin said.