Visibility Prevents Crime

Over the last 3 years I have developed a style for patrolling our campus that has had a significant impact on the reduction of property crimes committed on or near our campus. There are several key aspects to this style of patrol. I call it, for the lack of better terms, Obnoxious Visibility Patrol.

We had had on average five or six cars broken into in a one block area every year and fewer broken into in other locations on the campus. Most were cars that were parked on a street in front of a dormitory. We tried extra lighting. We installed street lights that were to "light a vacant lot that we owned" because the city said the lights on the street were sufficient. We still had cars being broken into. What to do?

I decided that if we had a more highly visible way of letting people know that security was watching the campus we might cut down on the crime happening nearby. I bought a 3.5 million candlepower spotlight. As the guards make their rounds they take the spotlight and point it at various locations across the campus. We can easily light someone up from two blocks away. It began to work quite well. We had fewer larceny from auto reports. It was good but still not quite good enough to satisfy me.

Our next step was to have saturation nights. I scheduled double the normal manpower on a few nights early in the fall semsester. I scheduled this coverage on Friday and Saturday nights when we tended to have most of the auto burglaries. The guards were scattered across the campus. One night there were two men arguing (not students, just folks from the neighborhood) and one of the guards called for backup. Four guards responded and were there within seconds. The guards didn't have to say a word to the men. They saw four uniforms coming toward them and they looked at each other and said, "Let's get out of here!" They left without so much as an utterance from the guards. Word got out on the street that we had a small army protecting the campus. Most of the time we don't, but the bad guys never know when we will have a "saturation night." I started scheduling saturation nights several times each semester.

However, we still had a few larcenies from autos. It was mostly stereos being stolen. I decided to check the motor vehicle laws to see what the law said about operating flashing lights on a vehicle. The only prohibition in North Carolina was against the use of blue or red lights. I sent a note to the local police to inform them that we planned on installing a green light bar on a vehicle. It was a professional courtesy to let them know what we were doing and why, and to give them a chance to object to it even though it is legal. I began patrolling our campus and in the parking lots I would activate the obnoxious green light. I would also activate it while driving on the one street where we had had the most larcenies from autos. It worked! In the last 18 months we have had one car broken into. A student left a boom box in plain view and some bad guy came by saw it, smashed a window, reached in and the boom box was gone in five seconds.

Be obnoxiously visible and you will cut down on the chance that your campus will have a serious crime happen.

Crime Prevention Tips

80% of all crime is committed because the opportunity exists. When you take the opportunity for a crime to take place then you have taken a big step toward prevention. Take a moment to look at your surroundings if you are new to a campus. Look at where the well lit areas are. Look at the campus as if you were a bad guy. Where would you hide, what would you do, where would you look for victims? Don't forget to look in the obvious dark corners, but also check out even the well lit areas that might leave you far from a building or from people.

Speaking of people brings up the next point. You should try to walk with someone. Most campuses offer escorts, especially for the ladies. Check with your institution's police or security department to see how to contact them. Some schools distribute business cards with the police or security number on it. Memorize the number so that if you are caught without the card you can still contact them for an escort. Keep in mind that there are many who need this service so be prepared to leave as soon as the security person arrives to escort you. Don't keep them waiting while you finish your conversation or typing that last paragraph on the paper that is due the next day. Always wait for the security person once you have placed the call for an escort. Cancel the call if someone comes along that you know and you can walk with to your destination.

Keep dorm rooms locked. Even short periods of time can allow someone the opportunity to sneak in and take you belongings. It is a good idea to keep a list of serial numbers of items that might be stolen. Don't forget your television, computer, bicycle and many other items have serial numbers. Write them down and leave them with your parents. If they are stolen you may get them back if you can supply the serial number. If not, you will probably never see it again even if the police locate the item. Without being able to prove who the item belongs to they simply can't return it to you. You will likely see these items in the next police auction!