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October 7, 2009
By Brittney Meyer
Staff Reporter
Despite enrollment on the rise, crime on campus is still constant compared to earlier years. Keeping crime low on campus is beneficial to residential life and a great way to keep a positive atmosphere.
Students are doing more these days to keep their belongings and themselves safe after hearing about the recent thefts on campus. During move-in day there were reports of people posing as UIS students wanting to help people move in; the ‘helpers’ stole from the students and still remain at large.
Along with the police being extra observant Resident Director of the west side of campus, Kalia Patricio, recently sent out an e-mail encouraging residents “to encourage that front doors remain locked at all times and that the deadbolt mechanism be utilized.” Patricio said locking the deadbolt is good practice and makes it harder for criminals to get past.
Many residents are often confused on how the push-in lock works and can accidently attempt to lock it, whereas it comes unlocked as soon as the knob is turned. The locked attached to the handle should be pressed in and turned to secure it. Testing a door’s lock is always a good idea each time it is locked.
As well as locking the doors, Patricio also encourages residents to lock and double check the security of their windows. Windows should not remain unlocked to crawl through when keys misplaced. Patricio saidcalling the RA on duty and getting your lock out key is best to do in this situation.
One thing any student can do to protect him or herself is just be aware of their surroundings. Students on campus are the eyes and ears for police, so reporting any suspicious activity can protect a whole campus. The campus police encourages students to call the police for any reason they may feel uncomfortable, unsafe or just worried.
Students often make themselves a target for thieves when leaving their stuff unattended in a building. Whether they are tucked away on the fourth floor, or relaxing in Mary Jane’s every time a student moves out of visual range of their stuff, they make themselves a target. In just a matter of seconds a laptop, iCard, or cell phone can be snatched off a table with no one around to see who did it.
The campus police offer an escort service to those students who don’t feel comfortable walking alone. All you have to do is call the police, or use one of the 37 Code Blue stations, and an officer will walk with you to your destination or drive you.
The code blue stations can be found in stairwells and spread across the campus. Anytime a student feels unsafe at all, they are encouraged to use these to get a hold campus police. The stations can even be used to help with car trouble on campus.
Residents should also familiarize themselves with the emergency pull station located in almost every laundry area. A small white box that can be used in cases where someone feels unsafe while in the laundry room, or notices something suspicious.
The women’s center also offers whistles to women on campus to use when they feel unsafe. They are loud enough that a police in the area should hear it. More programs regarding women’s safety can be found on their website at http://www.uis.edu/womenscenter/safety.htm or by calling 217-206-7173.
Every student should also have the UIS campus police’s emergency and non-emergency numbers posted in many places in their dorm/house.
Emergency: 217-206-7777
Non-emergency: 217-206-6690
Some more tips directly from Don Mitchell and officers are:
-Never prop door open. It gives thieves the perfect chance to grab anything while your back is turned or you step out.
-Don’t hang flyers on windows of stairwells or laundry rooms. If there is something blocking the window it would be harder to detect any usual activity.
-Report it to the police as soon as you noticed your iCard is missing. They can deactivate it to prevent unauthorized usage of it.
-Don’t allow people to walk up the stairwell with you. This is how unescorted guests could cause chaos in the dorms.
