Amid concerns over growing violent incidents on campuses across the U.S., the president of University of Cincinnati hosted a safety summit last week, in which the participants brainstormed ideas to prevent crime on premises and surrounding communities.
Many distinguished people, including local law enforcement officials, Cincinnati's chief of police and the captains of Police Districts Four and Five, and representatives from the city government and the Uptown Consortium, participated in the summit alongside UC's senior leadership.
The core intention of the UC's safety summit was to map out effective ways to improve their ability to contain crime and promote safety both on campus and in the surrounding communities.
As a result, the university leadership and other officials have chalked out more than one measure to check outlaw activates around the campus. Meanwhile, the university also announced that the standing committee of the President's Campus Safety Committee would meet regularly.
Santa J. Ono, President of UC, noted some of the initiatives that the authorities would be implementing in coming days to ensure safety of the students.
Below are some of the measures the UC has decided to put in place starting next year as mentioned in the President's note:
-Starting on January 1, 2013, UCPD will increase the number of officers on patrol by 30 percent.
-UCPD and CPD will collaborate with the Uptown Consortium and the University Of Cincinnati Institute Of Crime Science (ICS) to standardize the collection, analysis and dissemination of crime data. This will enable them to develop more and better data-driven solutions for safety and security.
-UC's Advisory Committee on Public Safety (ACOPS) and the Student Safety Board will work with CPD to develop a "Students on Patrol" program modeled on the "Citizens on Patrol" program.
-CPD is exploring the feasibility of reassigning district boundaries within and around UC to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
-Student orientation will now include a joint presentation by UCPD and CPD on how students can best protect themselves and promote safety.
-UCPD and CPD will enhance and expand its educational outreach to international students.
-CPD and the City will generate a cost estimate for increasing lighting, signage and other environmental assets in certain neighborhoods.
-UCPD will study the impact of using a mobile substation to increase its presence and visibility in targeted areas.
-The Student Safety Board will develop a proposal to expand the Bearcat Transportation System to include designated routes to and from popular student destinations.
-UCPD, CPD, ACOPS and the Student Safety Board will work together to design and implement a robust social media strategy for promoting safety.
-The President's Campus Safety Committee will engage UC's criminal justice faculty-who have built one of the most widely recognized and respected programs in the world-in the planning process.
