Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Joshua Avalos
In this day and age, there is an exuberant amount of discussion and concern
regarding safety on college campuses. Liberty University, one of the largest schools in the
nation with over 80,000 students,1 interacts in this dialogue. On their website, they assure
those thinking about attending that they go “above and beyond mere legal compliance to
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provide high level security to its campus community.”2 Additionally, state schools that near
potential and current students. They say, “the safety of students, faculty, and staff has been,
and continues to be a top priority.”4 All schools call attention to this message because it is
the number one priority of students and their parents. In a recent study, 985 parents were
questioned on what requirements they had for their children’s schools, both secondary and
college level. Nearly 75% of those parents chose to list a safe environment as one of their
top priorities.5 The safety of students is definitely something that is valued, and obvious
measures are being taken in order to protect students from danger. However, are these
campuses, most have not yet developed a thriving model that others can follow.6 By looking
at Penn State specifically, one is able to capture effective and efficient prevention concepts
for use in college campuses. These concepts should theoretically keep campus as secure as
possible when it comes to property crimes (theft) and violent crimes (aggravated assault,
rape).
security measures were studied and compiled in order to present an example of a standard
university’s techniques. Information was provided by Scotty Eble, Penn State’s Chief
Physical Security Officer in a phone interview. This data will be shared and cited when it is
used.
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Many college campuses have a student police force on duty.7 These students are on
patrol during sporting events, high traffic volume days, and odd hours of the night in an
effort to stop crime and allow for organized crowds. At Penn State, “[student police
officers] carry police radios and walk Penn State students and employees from one on-
campus location to another, and to within reasonable walking distance off-campus.”8 This
service acts as a way for those who feel unsafe walking alone at night to travel with another
Security cameras are also a popular technique. Cameras allow campus security to
watch live for suspicious behavior and unauthorized access.9 They also serve as a deterrent
to theft and break-ins; once perpetrators see them, they think twice about committing a
crime for fear of being caught.10 Even after someone commits a crime, archived footage
from these cameras, can be used to identify an offender, ultimately an extremely flexible
prevention technique.11
phones. These stanchions, equipped with bright blue LED lights on its top, are set up
around a college campus. They feature an emergency button that calls the university police
The last notable approach is the electronic alert system that most colleges have in
place. This service texts, emails, or calls subscribers with severe weather notifications,
closings, and most importantly, campus emergencies. Currently, this is most used in active
shooter situations. While this is best used outside of the scope of this paper, which is
property and violent crimes, it is certainly a good technique that is worth referencing. A
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range of colleges from small to large, from engineering to liberal arts based, including The
Georgia Public Liberal Arts University12, Texas A&M University13, and Pennsylvania State
crime rates are still excessively high. In 2016, there were over 36,319 campus crimes
reported by colleges in America (as required by the Clery ActA).15 An additional 76,380
campus crimes were cited in FBI crime reports (this figure is shown below).16 This is
almost 113,000 campus crimes that occurred in a single year. From the figure, it is visible
that 95% of these crimes relate to property, while the additional 5% are related to
violence.17
A
The Clery Act is a consumer protection law that forces colleges and universities to provide clarity on campus
crime statistics and policies.
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"School and Campus Crime," Office for Victims of Crime, accessed March 30, 2018,
https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw2016.
While it is important to recognize that the statistical increase in these
crimes18, it is even more important to focus on the quantity of crimes in the first place. One
study shows that over 479,000 acts of violence are committed on college campuses every
year.19 This number accounts for those that are not reported to the administration, and
therefore not reported to the government. To put this into perspective, all of the 47,000
undergraduate students at Penn State would need to commit over 10 federal crimes every
Most students are fearful to walk on their supposedly safe campuses.20 Ms.
Rosenburg from Ohio State University is a perfect example of this. She and her friends don’t
feel safe walking anywhere on campus after dusk. Ms. Roseburg describes that these
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daunting circumstances are what ultimately forced her to join a self-defense club and
become “a connoisseur of mace dispensers.”21 At Penn State specifically, there were nearly
150 criminal offenses reported in 2016.22 This number is a 60% increase from the 89
College students in America are terrified of having to deal with these types of crimes
happening to them.24 They realize that controlling crime is nearly impossible, and therefore
turn to self-defense classes and prayer that they don’t get robbed or sexually assaulted on
campus.25 Actions must be taken in order to preserve the American college campus and its
safety. While enterprising actions will cost colleges, they will ultimately limit crimes and
From 1995-1998, Temple University built three police kiosks on their campus.26
Police kiosks are small, one-man booths that a police officer sits in to keep a keen eye for
trouble. These kiosks not only allow for vigilance, they deter crime as well.27 The first was
built in 1995 at the commuter train station. After that, in 1997, one was constructed at the
very end of the walkway to the commuter train station. Finally, in 1998, the third was built
on the opposite side of the campus next to the athletic facilities.28 After analyzing crime
data, researchers found an interesting result. Before the kiosks were built, the average
crime rate for the past five years was 11 crimes per year.
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After they were built, this average dropped to a stunning 2.6 crimes per year.29 Five
more were added by 2005, and since then, their presence continues to discourage crime.30
Some of these kiosks are manned from five in the afternoon until six in the morning, and
some are manned from two in the afternoon until two in the morning, all depending on
their location and the crimes that are most likely in that area.31 Sam Ro, a senior at Temple,
said “It gives me more security, having a car [on campus] and knowing it’s not going to get
broken into.”32 It not only deters crime but allows students and faculty to focus on their
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studies and not on if their car is being stolen. While these police kiosks would create a great
demand for more workers, the supply of them is essential to keeping the streets as safe as
possible. As such, colleges should construct these as part of their prevention strategy in
order to create a safer environment for those on and off campus. These kiosks can provide
a sense of security to anybody who is concerned for their safety. Walking towards one of
these would most likely prevent any person from harming them because of the police
presence in the booth. Due to this, kiosks are a great addition to college campuses and
Blue-light phones, like the one pictured at the beginning of this report, are poles
with a call box and a bright, blue light on top. They are intended to be set up everywhere:
big cities, questionable boroughs, and even college campuses. Their purpose is to help
someone who is in a bad situation. Their purpose is to help someone who is in a bad
situation. This person is probably experiencing both shock and panic, which can make it
very difficult to even call out for help, much less dial a number on their phone. Instead of
having to dial someone, they simply press one button on the blue-light phone and help will
come.
Unlike cell phones, they typically rely on a landline connection, thus, no internet or
cellular shortages stop these phones from working.33 They also have a microphone and
speaker that allows for direct communication between the caller and the police. Over 90%
of public and private universities had several of these systems installed by 2005.34 The
University of Colorado Boulder (UCB) states that this technology is outdated and its little
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usage discourages them from maintaining it with tuition money.35 Contrary to UCB’s
standing, many other colleges are of the opinion that blue-light phones work to discourage
crime.36 In 2012, a blue-light phone helped Florida State University police officers
During an interview with Scotty Eble, Chief Physical Officer of Penn State, he said, “I
have a hard time removing the ones [blue-light phones] we have. Cellular technology
cannot be relied on for a true emergency. Those phones are coming off of campus hotlines.
That means they are not using VOIP or cellular phonics, they are using a Centrex analog line
which is monitored for integrity.” He continued, saying, “We’ll never know the amount of
times someone thinks they are being followed by a suspicious person and they walk near
one of these stanchions and the perpetrator leaves.”38 Officer Eble urges everyone to learn
more about these lights and be ready to use one if the situation arises. Along these lines,
Robin Hattersley Gray, editor of Campus Safety Magazine, says, “During an emergency, the
stress of it all can rattle folks so much that they aren’t able to dial a three- or seven-digit
number. Just being able to push one button helps with that.”
Ultimately, experience from police officers is the ultimate guide in revealing that
these stanchion’s existence, their high visibility, and their positioning all play in role in
discouraging a person who might otherwise engage in a crime, either property or violent.39
Officer Eble commented that Penn State is putting Quad Cameras on their stanchions
around campus.40 This allows officers responding to the call to get a 360º view of the
situation and assess the situation while arriving on scene. He also says they help with
surveillance when looking for recently committed crimes; headquarters are able to tell
those in pursuit which way a suspect fled, what they were wearing, and any other available
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details.41 Adding more of these stanchions will advocate for a safer environment on
campus, deterring crime and allowing those who feel threatened immediate assistance. In
addition, they will also prove a valuable resource to local police when they are attempting
to assess a situation and figure out how to respond. One of the best ways to do this is with
the Quad Cameras that seems to be making its way onto college campuses. These
encourage safety, and be prepared to handle any situations that may arise.
The last crime prevention method is the surveillance camera. In 2011, researchers
published a study that showed how crime cameras were a cost-effective deterrent.42 Over
500 cameras were placed in Baltimore, and since they were installed, crime has been
driven down in most areas, and taxpayers were given returns of around $1.50 per every
dollar spent on the security measure.43 These cameras also assisted police in the arrest of
two murderers.44 Naturally, the same results happened in Chicago. Cameras were installed
and people were notified that they were monitored, and the city saved over $815,000
taxpayer dollars a month on criminal justice costs and victims’ financial and emotional
costs.45 This amounted to $4.30 for every dollar spent on the security measure.46
Not only is it a deterrent, but it can be used after the fact as well. Surveillance
cameras are one of the best ways to determine the who, where, and when of the situation at
hand.47 On a local level, Officer Eble believes that Penn State is doing a good job adding
security cameras to blue-light phones, but he sees a big omission in the security measure.
He notes that most of the cameras on campus are still analog cameras.48 Analog cameras
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don’t record more than 1 or 2 megapixels in resolution.49 To put this in perspective, the
iPhone 7 is equipped with a 12 megapixel camera.50 He also explains that the campus is
trying to upgrade the cameras to 8 megapixel digital cameras but are doing so leisurely and
without urgency, and suggests that automaticity and crime-detecting algorithms are
Ultimately, cameras that are monitored regularly deter crime more than any other
security measure.52 While they are not a panacea, they stop large amounts of crime and
allow law enforcement to focus on cases that these measures are unable to stop. Colleges
should implement more surveillance cameras with a higher resolution in order to not only
scare off possible criminals, but also to record and catch something bad happening in case
the crime was not stopped. While the cost will be very high for both server maintenance
and adding cameras, in the end, the good outweighs the bad because the cameras will stop
The Future
America certainly values a solid education. Now it is time for those in charge of this
education to ensure the safety of the students on campus by learning from mistakes that
others have made, ultimately constructing the best template of campus security. The best
obstructions to crime are known. The only thing that stands in the way is school
administration’s greed for money over safety. This is the one true obstacle that needs to be
dealt with before the three implementations for a successfully safe campus can occur.
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Endnotes
1 "List of the Top 300 Largest Universities & Colleges," Match College, accessed March 25, 2018,
https://www.matchcollege.com/top-colleges.
2 "Campus Safety and Security," Campus Safety and Security | LU Police Department | Liberty University,
https://www.matchcollege.com/top-colleges.
4 "Safety at Penn State," Penn State Undergraduate Admissions, accessed March 26, 2018,
https://admissions.psu.edu/life/safety/.
5 Jillian Youngblood, "Report: What Do Parents Want from Colleges?" Noodle, January 09, 2015,
https://www.noodle.com/articles/report-what-do-parents-want-from-colleges.
6 David Nichols, Creating a Safe Campus. a Guide for College and University Administrators (Springfield, IL:
for Evaluating and Enhancing Safety Programs (Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2007).
8 "Safe Walk Service," Safe Walk Service | University Police & Public Safety, accessed March 28, 2018,
https://police.psu.edu/safe-walk-service.
9 "Campus Surveillance," VideoSurveillance.com, accessed March 30, 2018,
https://www.videosurveillance.com/campus.asp.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 "Emergency Systems," Georgia College, January 12, 2018, accessed March 30, 2018,
http://www.gcsu.edu/publicsafety/emergency-systems.
13 "Emergency Preparedness - Texas A&M University, College Station, TX," Texas A&M University, , accessed
https://psualert.psu.edu/psualert/.
15 "School and Campus Crime," Office for Victims of Crime, accessed March 30, 2018,
https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw2016.
16 Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
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19
Michele Antoinette Paludi, Bethany L. Waits, and Paula Lundberg-Love, Understanding and Preventing Campus
Violence (Praeger, 2008), 51-52.
20
Aimee Lee Ball, "Students Fear Venturing Out Alone at Night on Campus.," The New York Times, July 20, 2012,
accessed March 30, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/education/edlife/students-fear-venturing-out-alone-
at-night-on-campus.html?pagewanted=all.
21
Ibid.
22
Campus Safety and Security, accessed March 31, 2018, https://ope.ed.gov/campussafety.
23
Ibid.
24
Hope Racine, "Prepared Not Scared: College Campus Safety," Literally, Darling, September 20, 2014, accessed
March 31, 2018, http://www.literallydarling.com/blog/2014/09/20/prepared-scared-college-campus-safety/.
25
Ibid.
26
George F. Rengert, Mark T. Mattson, and Kristin D. Henderson, Campus Security: Situational Crime Prevention
in High-density Environments (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub., 2010), 48-59.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
Todd Broadbent, "Police Add Five Security Kiosks," The Temple News, November 29, 2005, March April 31,
2018, https://temple-news.com/police-add-five-security-kiosks/.
31
Ibid.
32
Ibid.
33 "5' 8" Pedestal Phones 2100-P Series." Emergency Blue Light 5'8" Pedestal Help Phones | Rath Security.
37 Ibid.
38
"Discussing Campus Safety at Penn State," telephone interview by author, March 28, 2018.
39
Brynn Mechem, "Emergency Telephones, Blue Lights Help Promote Campus Safety," Ball State Daily,
November 03, 2016, accessed April 01, 2018, http://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2016/11/news-blue-lights-
emergency-telephones-help-promote-campus-safety.
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40
"Discussing Campus Safety at Penn State," telephone interview by author, March 28, 2018.
41
Ibid.
42
Justin Fenton, "Crime Cameras: A Cost-effective Deterrent, New Study Says," Tribune digital-baltimore sun,
September 19, 2011, accessed April 01, 2018, http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-09-19/news/bs-md-ci-crime-
camera-study-20110919_1_crime-cameras-dashboard-cameras-surveillance-cameras.
43
Ibid.
44
Kevin McCaneySep, "Do Surveillance Systems Reduce Crime?" GCN, accessed April 01, 2018,
https://gcn.com/articles/2011/09/20/surveillance-cameras-effect-on-preventing-crimes.aspx.
45
Ibid.
46
Ibid.
47
Mary A. Lentz et al., Campus Security for Public and Private Colleges and Universities (Eagan, MN: Thomson
Reuters, 2016).
48
Discussing Campus Safety at Penn State," telephone interview by author, March 28, 2018.
49
Glenn Adair, "Understanding Megapixel Camera Technology for Network Video Surveillance Systems" (lecture).
50
"iPhone 7 - Technical Specifications," Apple, accessed April 01, 2018, https://www.apple.com/iphone-7/specs/.
51
Discussing Campus Safety at Penn State," telephone interview by author, March 28, 2018.
52
"Study Shows Surveillance Cameras Reduce Crime, in Some Cases," Homeland Security Newswire, September
26, 2011, accessed April 01, 2018, http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/study-shows-surveillance-cameras-
reduce-crime-some-cases.
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