Annual crime report released

Annual+crime+report+released

Updated, Oct. 2 at 10:45 a.m.

The latest annual report of statistics on reported crimes on campus was released yesterday.

The statistics are from the three previous calendar years, with the most recent being 2013. According to last year’s report, crimes on campus are becoming less frequent.

“I think that more people are providing us information now,” EC Police Chief Michael Trevis said. “More data is being provided to us than perhaps in previous years. Our hope is we can prevent this stuff before it happens, and that requires all of us working together.”

Both in 2012 and 2013, motor vehicle thefts remained the same, at 3, according to yesterday’s report.

Drug abuse violations, from 2012 to 2013, went from zero to 12, according to the report.

Another example of a decrease in crime is arrests for drug abuse violations on campus. From 2011 to 2013, these violations have gone from 11 to one to zero.

“All of our areas are well monitored. We have police officers in patrol cars, bikes, and cameras,” Trevis said. “We also have police cadets. They help us monitor things. Some areas on campus are a little dark. Sometimes we try to provide extra patrol in our parking lots, especially enclosed parking lots.”

Trevis added thefts occur more around the holiday season.

“People leave their gifts in plain view of their cars. There are a number of criminals that go through parking lots, and if they see gifts in cars, they will want to break in,” he said. “Conceal your gifts in a trunk, or under your seat, or take it home before school if possible.”

In order to stay safe, Trevis had a few tips for students. He said be aware of your surroundings, don’t walk alone, and use the blue poles located throughout campus.

A special procedure ECPD uses is an emergency alert system called Nixle.

“Anyone who has a phone can text the number 888777. It is free. You would type in ECCPD, hit send, and you get alerts,” Trevis said. “For example, an active shooter is on campus, or a gas main broke, we can alert students. Communication is essential to letting people know what is going on.”

On the newer blue poles, used to call ECPD, there are two buttons. The black button is for information and the red button is for emergencies.

Students also had their say about their own safety on campus. Daphney Kiesling, 18, graphic design major, said she felt safe knowing there was security around campus. “I think campus is safe as it is,” she said.

Kiesling did not feel any major changes should be done. She also said she had never used a blue pole or the courtesy shuttle service before, but she has seen the cop cars around often.

As far as safety compared to previous years, she’s a freshman, so she had no knowledge of safety from previous years to compare to, but had heard good things about the college. “I have been told by my cousins that it is a good environment,” she said.

Lisa Alvarado, 19, psychology and criminal justice major, said she felt safe on campus, but not around it, as she has had a bad experience down the street in the past.

“I see the cop cars in certain areas,” Alvarado said, “but I would like to see them a lot more, especially around the outside borders of campus.”

Alvarado had also never used a courtesy shuttle before, as she originally thought that it was mainly used to help transport the disabled.

“(Campus) is safer from what I’ve heard. From my experience, it remains about the same,” Alvarado said.

Read our article about discrepancies in the original crime report here.