The future of campus security
Students question how to make UH a safer space
by Jasmine Brown, Natalie De Los Santos & Kyle O'Donnell
The University of Houston is a large campus that has thousands of students and staff that attend here.
It is close to downtown and in the heart of a lot of neighborhoods and schools. Because there are so many people on campus however, there are bound to be a lot of crime that happens. Between the people who go here and the surrounding neighborhoods occasionally things happen. Fortunately the school has campus security around to patrol. But even still some students still don’t feel as safe as they should.
Student, Hanya makes sure to be around of her surroundings, especially at night.
“I’m definitely more aware at night time and definitely more cautions of my surroundings…I’m definitely more alert and I walk with a friend.”
When she can’t walk on campus with a friend, she has others means of staying safe.
“I have my Apple watch that has emergency quick access. Same with my phone, I have my close contacts open and I try to avoid areas where it’s completely blank and I try to go to areas where people are.”
A lot of people interviewed had the same take about campus security, that it needed to be increased and that people need to be more aware when walking around. But despite that, there was someone who didn’t feel as if they were and danger, such as Parker Roy.
“I mean I feel safe on campus, but I mean I don’t really get out. I’m always stuck in an office.”
Even before the recent alerts about security, Roy has always been aware of his surroundings.
“I don’t wear my headphones when I’m walking at night and I watch my surroundings and see if I’m being followed.”
The police station is located across the street from the dorm Cougar Place and not too far away from the stadium. In this area there is also the childcare center and some more student apartments. The location of the police department might be convenient for the students and faculty that work in the area, but so much for the students across campus at Moody Towers for instance. However there are multiple emergency call boxes, parking lot cameras, and security carts around the campus. From what people on campus observe, there are multiple ways to get help if needed. Even starting at 9pm, there is a shuttle called the Cougar Ride, that will deliver you to almost any place on campus. Even with this in mind, there are still some people who don’t feel safe at all.
Kahlia Marshall, Junior, said,
“Last semester, I had a class at night from 5:30 to 8:30 and luckily I had two friends to walk with to our cars. It was pitch black and there’s no security.”
Senior, Oscar, felt like he doesn’t see many police officers around either.
“I really don’t see cops around consistently every day on campus, I do see some from time-to-time.”
But unlike the other students, he thinks that the university is a relatively safe campus.
The security on campus are doing more to alert students of what’s going on around. In the past school years, more students have been getting alerts in their emails when something happens. Though that has been in place for the past few semesters, people are just now starting to pay more attention to them because of more things going on.
In 2017, majority of the crimes or reported actions that took place on campus were burglary at 27.98 percent and stalking at 34.40 percent. In the last 60 days there has been a total of 21 burglaries: 10 from the parking lots, five from residential facilities, four from classroom buildings, and two from public property. In the same time frame there has been 67 thefts: six from the parking lots, five from residential facilities, 19 from classroom buildings, and 37 on public property. With all that is happening around campus it is shown while a lot of students say why they don’t feel safe on campus.
The police officers work with the university to do everything they can to keep everyone around safe. At the same time it is up to those on campus to keep themselves safe as well. It’s been shown that walking in groups and in well-lit areas are ways to help prevent these measures. Along with not being on a device and being aware of what is going on around you when walking around no matter the distance.
