Post Classifieds
College works to address safety concerns
Buffalo State named 22nd most dangerous
By Katie Anderson
On December 6, 2012
Although this semester is coming to a close, the crime that has been reported throughout has some
students feeling unsafe on campus.
Over the course of the semester, students received six alert emails informing them of criminal and violent
incidents that happened near or around campus, including a shooting, armed robbery and sexual assault.
In a November article from Business Insider, Buffalo State was ranked the 22nd most dangerous college
campus in America. According to FBI statistics given in the article, from 2008 to 2011 the average
property crime incidents per year were 188 and the average violent crime incidents were eight.
University Police Chief Peter Carey, however, said that Buffalo State crime statistics are on the decline.
He said that from 2008 to 2011 property crime decreased 33 percent from 220 incidents to 147 and
violent crime decreased 20 percent from 10 down to eight incidents.
Carey also said since many schools were left out of the survey, being ranked the 22nd most dangerous
loses much significance. Crime statistics from other colleges such as Medaille and Canisius get lost in the
City of Buffalo crime statistics because Buffalo Police respond to any reported crimes on those campuses.
"The reason we're on there is that we're police and under the law police must report their crime statistics
individually to the FBI," said Carey. "So when Business First or anybody goes to do their ranking, they
only have us to pick from."
Although the article did say that not all schools participated in the survey and that "some schools are more
aggressive than others in reporting crime in neighboring, non-campus areas," many students, faculty and
staff are concerned with safety on campus.
"Safety is a major concern," said Andrew Fournier, chair of the Student Welfare Committee. "One
consensus among the students is an unsatisfactory police presence."
At the last college senate meeting, the Student Welfare Committee delivered a presentation about safety
on campus, addressing certain issues such as students feeling unsafe, current safety procedures and
concerns the committee is working on for the future.
Fournier said that there is a discrepancy between the student and police opinions on how safe the campus
is.
"If the police are saying that students are safe because there are only a handful of incidents, still the issue
we're going for is that students don't feel safe - that's the big thing."
Carey said that although students may feel unsafe, he hopes those fears will be allocated through
education and information as to safety issues that occur on campus. Of the six incidents reported to
students this semester, four were off campus, said Carey.
"We want our campus community to be informed of what's taking place on campus," he said. "A
consequence of that is it can lead to people feeling unsafe, but we feel people are safer when they're well
informed. If crimes take place and we don't notify the community, they, by ignorance, may feel safer, but
in fact, they're not then able to take reasonable, personal safety precautions based upon what has taken
place."
Carey said that being proactive with notifying the community about crime and encouraging students to
report crime may also have influenced the Business Insider's ranking because if more crimes are reported,
then the statistics will rise.
"We encourage people to report crimes, even though it ups our crime spots," he said.
Fournier said that there are several safety services and procedures provided to students, such as
mandatory foot patrol of UPD officers, a free self-defense program, the escort van service and 70 UPSA
agents. Even though these services are already provided to students, Fournier and the presentation given
by the Student Welfare Committee, suggest room for improvement.
Fournier mentioned some future concerns that the committee will be focusing on for the next few months
such as increasing signage for the escort system, sending out community newsletters to promote the safety
services, increasing and improving the lighting on campus, training the UPSA agents more effectively and
making sure security cameras on campus are visible.
"I think there was a pretty good reception to the presentation," Fournier said. "It seems that the crimes
are opening eyes a little bit more. In terms of numbers, if you get all the students expressing that they feel
unsafe, something is going to get done."
Carey said that the college is also working on a project to improve safety on campus. The $2 million
dollar project includes an access control system for every academic and administrative building to not
only control who's in the building but also to allow students and staff a safe way into the buildings after
hours.
"Particularly this time of year, students need to work after hours, so we end up having a lot of students in
the building and we have to leave doors open for them to get in and out," said Carey. "Under this access
control system they're going to have a swipe card. The building stays locked and nobody else can get in
there."
Also, as part of the project, 20 new exterior video cameras are being installed around campus.
Carey also said that the UPD has recently obtained accreditation as an official police department, making
them part of the 25 percent of all New York State police departments with the same achievement.
"This is an accreditation that ensures our best practices, and we have to maintain that," he said.
As the semester comes to an end and students are on campus late trying to finish up assignments, Carey
said there are certain precautions they can take to ensure safety such as walking with a friend or utilizing
the escort program.
"Despite how some students may feel," Carey said. "Our crime statistics have gone down and our campus
is safe."
Katie Anderson can be reached by email at anderson.record@live.com.
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