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Last Updated: Nov 5th, 2008 - 19:33:25 |
Thefts at Auraria campus decreased last year, going down 11 percent from the 2006 – 2007 school year.
During the fall 2007 and spring 2008 semesters, Auraria police reported 113 thefts and related incidents, including robbery and shoplifting. During the previous year, 161 such incidents were reported.
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An Auraria Police squad car sits unmanned outside the Tivoli Student Union Nov. 4. Campus police often utilize the parking around the Tivoli while they patrol the surrounding areas on foot. (Photo by Caitlin Gibbons / cgibbon4@mscd.edu)
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"We deal with offense reports, primarily theft-related, taken from staff, students and faculty, whether it be a laptop or automobile. If it's after the fact, we work towards putting it on the computer in our database, said John Mackey, chief of Auraria police.
The trend continued into the current semester, with crime committed on campus dropping 43 percent from 60 reports in Sept. 2007 to 34 in Sept. 2008. But while crime rates drop, renewed focus is being placed on other serious safety issues, including speeding on campus.
After a high-speed chase that ended at Auraria on Aug. 17, 2007, campus police and administrators realized such incidents posed a threat to students and staff.
"This was a good wake-up call for us," said Dean Wolf, executive vice president of administration for Auraria Higher Education Center. "We could have done things better, and we will. This won't happen again."
The high-speed chase prompted changes, including improving the time and effectiveness of response to reports of crime.
"When I first got here, folks told me we didn't really have a set emergency plan. But since, we have established an emergency operation center in AHEC, and with the DNC, administrators were able to put into practice a camera system so people know how it all works," Mackey said.
Auraria police are taking advantage of new technologies to aid them in preventing and responding to crime, including capitalizing on the popularity of text messages by implementing an emergency alert text- and voice-messaging system.
Auraria partnered with Rave Wireless to provide students with an emergency notification system that is also capable of delivering messages directly to police, a tool that is especially important since the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech.
"We didn't have the success at first like we wanted to, and now that we've changed contractors, we are encouraging students to sign up for [alert messaging] since we're improving the system, making it more simple," Mackey said.
Cars traveling at high speeds through campus remain a concern, especially on 7th Street, which cuts through the west side of campus.
"Well 7th Street and (West) Colfax (Avenue), it's a tough intersection. The way the crossroads were built, the aggressive drivers, you have to time it right and people feel they have to get through that intersection for some reason," said Mark Gallagher, director of parking and transportation services at Auraria.
Concerns about pedestrian safety prompted Auraria police to release a pedestrian safety bulletin on Oct. 1, reminding students and staff to cross busy streets only at crosswalks when the walk signal is flashing. The bulletin warns pedestrians that crossing at other times, especially when oncoming traffic has the right of way, is especially dangerous.
Pedestrians and students riding bicycles are vulnerable to serious injury and students often ignore the consequences of crossing the busy roadways, UCD student David Skogerboe said.
"Drivers just don't care, I mean, I get the walk signal and cars will turn in front of you. It really doesn't matter where you are coming to school from, you have to watch out for yourself or you are at a serious risk," Skogerboe said.
As fall wears into winter and the sun disappears behind the Rocky Mountains sooner than later, Metro's Nightrider service comes into play. Starting at sundown, students are entitled to a ride to their car, the light rail, or the bus free of charge. The Nightrider service is another option students have to stay safe.
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