About CBCS

Safety Message #3

How many of us are aware of the types of crimes happening in our immediate vicinity? This month we'll examine the nature of crime occurring around the college over the last year, as well as preventative measures for reducing their occurrence in the future.  University Police provided crime data from January 1, 2013 to February 17, 2014 for the areas of campus outlined on this map. These zones were chosen since they represent the immediate surroundings of all of the CBCS departments. The areas are labeled as either the northwest or southeast zones.

The data was sorted by type of offense and the results are here. As you can see, the overall number of incidents for each zone is quite low with 13 per month in the southeast and 4 per month in the northwest. Of the 57 incidents reported in the northwest zone, none were in the MHC building. Similarly, only 5 of 175 in the southeast zone occurred in the SOC building. Interestingly, theft (petty and grand) accounts for 42% of crimes in the northwest and 59% in the southeast.

Also examined were the times at which these incidents were reported, with the results here.  In the southeast zone, there was a spike in incidents being reported from 4pm to 6pm. The northwest zone showed a similar increase from 10am to noon.  Please note that these were reporting times and not necessary when the crimes occurred. Now that we have an idea of what and when incidents are occurring around us, here are some preventative measures to take to protect both our property and ourselves.

Theft Prevention:

  1. Always lock your office door when you are leaving, even if for a few minutes.
  2. Portable equipment such as laptops, iPads etc. should be kept in locked drawers or cabinets when not in use.
  3. Money should always be kept in a locked cashbox inside of a locked drawer or cabinet.
  4. Purses and wallets should be kept out of sight in locked file cabinets or desk drawers.
  5. When possible, retain an inventory of property, inclusive of serial numbers to assist in recovery of stolen property.

Bike/Car Burglary and Theft Prevention:

  1. Always lock car doors and secure bikes.
  2. Store valuables in the trunk.
  3. Park in well-lit areas.
  4. Always use U-shaped hardened shackle bike locks - these tend to be the most secure.
  5. To assist with recovery - record the serial number of your bicycle at home. Engrave your Driver's License number on the bike frame and register the bike with Parking Services.

Personal Safety:

  1. Always choose well lit paths when walking from the building to your car at night.
  2. Do not prop open locked doors. This is all the opportunity a thief needs to enter the building and steal valuable property.
  3. Never allow people you don't know to follow you into doors that require card access.