FORUM SET FOR ECU CAMPUS SAFETY SURVEY
GREENVILLE (OCT. 18, 2007) — Forums to discuss the results of a campus safety student survey at East Carolina University will be held at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 22 at the Mendenhall Student Center Room 244; and at 6 p.m., Nov. 12, at ECU’s Willis Building.
The hour-long event, “ECUnity Safety Forum,” will offer students and the community a chance to talk with ECU and community administrators, and public safety and transit officials, about efforts made to increase campus safety since the April 2007 survey. They will also discuss the findings of the Oct. 1 campus safety walk. A reception with refreshments will follow each forum.
Michelle Lieberman, director of ECU’s Center for Off-Campus and Community Living, said the 3,917 survey responses she received from students last semester demonstrates a keen concern for safety on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood. She hopes the forum will help let students know that ECU has heard their concerns and have made efforts to respond to them.
“Too often, survey responses get put on shelves; no one knows what happens to them,” Lieberman said. “We want students to know their concerns have been heard and responded to.”
The aim of the survey was to determine what student perceptions were about campus safety; how they make themselves safe; and what they know about ECU’s campus’ safety resources, such as ECU’s Transit and Safe Ride; ECU Student Patrol; and parking services. Officials have responded in writing to the students’ concerns (extracts provided below).
Marilyn Sheerer, ECU interim provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, said the results provide campus safety officials, police, and the surrounding community members with a good direction for its future programs and offerings.
“Please be assured that there is a decided emphasis being placed on safety and security on the ECU campus. Numerous strategy meetings are being held; police visibility has been increased; text messaging is available; planning around emergency response is ongoing; and off-campus services are being increased,” Sheerer said.
Other initiatives include new lights on campus; student parking allowed at 3 p.m. on the main campus; new police hires; and a change of uniform for parking monitors.
The following are highlights from responses to ECU Student Campus Safety Survey:
ECU Administration (from Marilyn Sheerer, ECU interim provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs)
• ECU Police Department is promoting more police visibility; more interaction between the police and students; and more police involvement in education and training.
• ECU’s director of Student Legal Services is in place and readily available to all students.
• ECU is working to revise its crime Alerts, and to provide better follow-up regarding suspects who have been apprehended.
• ECU’s Dean of Students has developed an administrative withdrawal policy for student who potentially pose a threat to the campus community.
ECU Police Department (from Janice Harris, ECU Police Chief):
• ECU Police Department has 17 officers (including several supervisors) trained for bicycle patrol with 11 currently riding. There is usually a minimum of two officers riding per shift, day or night.
• ECU Police has increased its number of officers by five since June, and are in the process of hiring six more officers for new positions, to total 62 officers once the hiring is complete. There are currently 15 reserve officers. There are usually ten officers per shift; two at the Health Sciences Campus; six on the main campus, and a sergeant and lieutenant. There are also three dispatchers, one at Health Sciences and two on the main campus.
• ECU Police has 30 student patrol officers whose duties include: locking buildings, driving the safe van and providing escorts, looking out for suspicious activity, and providing security patrols around campus and buildings.
• ECU Police offer the campus community a “ride-along” program. The purpose of the ride-along program is to increase understanding of how the department functions and the duties of the officers. Contact: ECU Police Department at: (252) 328-6787.
• The ECU Police Department has a mutual aid agreement with Greenville Police Department that extends the jurisdiction of the ECU PD to specific areas beyond the main campus and in areas neighboring ECU with the goal of providing more service coverage and visible security.
• ECU Police has increased visibility in classroom buildings and parking lots. The officers patrolling the lots and campus buildings each night are attentive to the security of the vehicles as well as individuals traveling to and from the parking lots. The police department also uses cameras to monitor the parking lots and other areas of the campus.
• The department offers self-defense courses monthly to students, faculty and staff. Each class is filled to capacity at 25 max students. The courses are for 12 hours, spread into four, three-hour nights.
• The ECU PD has added the VIPER radio system.
Greenville Police Department (from William Anderson, Greenville Police Chief):
• In October 2006, the City of Greenville entered into a cooperative agreement to expand territorial jurisdiction and law enforcement powers of the ECU Police Department within Greenville city limits.
• There has been an overall decrease in crime of 13% in 2006 in contrast to the same period in 2005. Overall assaults were down by 36% and robberies were down by 11%.
• For the Fall 2007 semester, the Greenville Police Department reconfigured its enforcement philosophy in the downtown area through its Downtown Deployment Plan. The plan addresses many of the concerns outlined in the student survey. Greenville police are focusing on individuals who frequent the downtown area with the sole intent of preying on students or other visitors to downtown.
• Underage drinking and sexual assaults are two key areas of focus for Greenville PD. Anderson serves on the City of Greenville/East Carolina University Task Force to Study Student Related Alcohol Issues. Particular interest in these collaborative efforts focuses on off-campus parties, alcohol consumption, and a report of a sexual assault using a “date rape” drug. Prevention and education programs are in the works.
ECU Facilities (from George Harrell, Senior Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services):
• A new pedestrian walkway from Jones Residence Halls to College Hill Drive is nearing completion.
• Lighting has been added to targeted areas around the main and health sciences campuses.
ECU Transit Service (from Wood Davison, director of ECU Student Transit Authority):
• Pirate Express provides safe, late-night bus transportation to the downtown area Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Pirate Express serves Pirate’s Cove, University Manor, Sunchase, The Exchange, North Campus Crossing and the ECU campus. Most ECU buses used for late-night service are equipped with video surveillance cameras.
• Major bus stops are located near high-traffic buildings on campus such as Mendenhall, Speight, Christenbury/Brewster and Joyner Library. Areas that have bus shelters include lights and blue light phones.
• Safe Ride, a point to point van service, is operated nightly during the academic year by the ECU Student Transit Authority. The Safe Ride service is available to students, faculty, and staff both on and off campus within the transit system service area. Safe Ride services can be requested by calling (252) 328-7433. An ECU ID must be presented before being transported. Safe Ride operates from 7 p.m. to 12:00 midnight Sunday – Wednesday and 7 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Thursday – Saturday. Police escorts available by contacting the police department at (252) 328-6787.
ECU Parking and Transportation (from Bill Koch, director of ECU’s Environmental Health and Safety):
• ECU Police Officers do not write parking citations. Parking citations are written by Parking Control officers.
• Parking and Transportation Services staff members have switched to a completely different style and color of uniform for its Parking Control Officers.
• Parking and Transportation Services has begun working more closely with the ECU Police to better support them during emergencies with traffic control and serve in the Police Department’s new “neighborhood watch” program.
• Parking and Transportation Services has opened many parking lots to all ECU parking permit holders at 3 p.m., to provide improved access to the core campus and closer proximity parking for night classes. Some parking lots will remain closed to only A permit holders until 7:00 PM to retain the necessary flexibility for faculty and staff.
Other initiatives:
• Video cameras: There are 291 video cameras on campus (east and west) and another 154 cameras are planned over the next two years. The cameras are now server-based (digital) rather than closed circuit, which allows directors and managers, as well as police, to monitor cameras in their respective areas. ECU has also installed cameras in residence hall area parking lots, the mall area, and West End plaza.
• Key Card Access: Campus Living is evaluating card entry door access systems for the 2008-09 academic year. This system will help prevent propped doors and allow to de-activate lost and stolen keys as soon as Campus Living is notified.
• LCD Screens: Plans are in the works to have a centrally managed digital sign system (the campus’ LCD screens)
• Text Messaging capabilities for ECU students introduced this fall
• Voice-Over IP Public Announce module is being tested by Information Technology and Computing Services.
__________
Highlights of the survey findings are as follows:
• On-campus safety: 91 percent of respondents said they feel very or somewhat safe walking on campus during the day; 43 percent of respondents said they walk home alone at night often or sometimes on campus; 20 percent of respondents said they feel very or somewhat safe walking on campus at night.
• ECU Neighborhood safety: 27 percent of respondents said they walk alone at night off campus; 46 percent of respondents said they feel somewhat or very unsafe in the areas surrounding campus; 28 percent said they felt very or somewhat safe.
• Victims of crime: 5 percent of respondents (178 students) had been a victim of a crime while at ECU; 67 percent of these incidents occurred on campus.
• ECU’s safety transport services and patrols: 80 percent of respondents had heard about ECU’s safety escort services (such as Safe Ride and student patrol). 61 percent of respondents have never used these services; 28 percent have used it between one and five times. 38 percent of respondents said they had never seen a Student Patrol Officer on campus.
• Use of Drugs and alcohol: 55 percent of respondents believe that “some” of the campus crime occurs as a result of alcohol and drug use; 26 percent believe “most” crimes happen because of alcohol and drug use.
• Respondent profile: 82 percent of respondents are between the ages of 18 to 25; 79 percent were white; 10 percent were black; 2 percent of Spanish-speaking ethnicity; 3 percent Asian; 1 percent Native American; 4 percent other/multiracial. 25 percent of respondents were male. Students of all ranks (first year to graduate students) responded in relatively uniform numbers (ranging from 17 to 25 percent of correspondents); 75 percent of respondents live off-campus.
