Spring Break
A Message For Safety
A new text messaging alert system augments campus safety
Kristina Sanborn
Issue date: 12/22/08 Section: Campus
Last semester, Glendale Community College security went high tech. The campus police department implemented an SMS text messaging alert system that would send students, faculty, and staff a text message to their cell phones in the event of an emergency. Short Message Service "SMS" is a communications protocol allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices.
Though it's not quite like the fancy gadgets in the James Bond films, according to Blanca Collazo of the Glendale College Police Department, the SMS system is just one more step toward maintaining a safe campus environment. The SMS system, Collazo says, is, "a way to make them (students) aware. We had a power outage, so it's good to let them know what's going on, or if there's an incident on the freeway so they can avoid it." In these cases, those who had signed up for the alert would be notified with up to the minute information on what's happening around campus. With this information, students and staff could make a more informed decision whether or not to approach the area.
With a growing student and faculty population, the need to increase security measures is vital in providing the community with a sense of safety. Since the assault of a faculty member by a former student last spring, the Glendale Police department has enlisted the services of more security personnel to patrol the campus grounds, stepped up awareness programs for crime prevention, and improved emergency call boxes and lighting throughout campus. They've also added the new emergency text messaging system to their arsenal. Collazo says, "We offer services such as these, patrolling the parking structures, we offer escorts late at night, and a lot of traffic enforcement because we are always getting people who speed through the area. We have a lot of cadets patrolling the campus, so there's always an officer around."
Though these improvements may offer a sense of safety to all those who enter Glendale College on a daily basis, it is still premature to assume that they will hinder criminal behavior. According to the crime statistic data offered to the public, the total number of crimes reported for 2006 including, but not limited to assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, is lower than that of 2005, dropping from 13 to 8 incidents at the Glendale campus alone. However, from 2006 to 2007, the number of crimes reported increased from 8 to 14, slightly higher than what was reported in 2005. The data for 2008 is not available yet, and it remains to be seen if these numbers are affected by the new security measures that have been put in place. One comfort for some students and staff at Glendale College is that none of these statistics included heinous crimes such as hate crimes, murder, manslaughter, and all sex crimes. There were also no arrests for weapons laws violations in any of the three years.
Though it's not quite like the fancy gadgets in the James Bond films, according to Blanca Collazo of the Glendale College Police Department, the SMS system is just one more step toward maintaining a safe campus environment. The SMS system, Collazo says, is, "a way to make them (students) aware. We had a power outage, so it's good to let them know what's going on, or if there's an incident on the freeway so they can avoid it." In these cases, those who had signed up for the alert would be notified with up to the minute information on what's happening around campus. With this information, students and staff could make a more informed decision whether or not to approach the area.
With a growing student and faculty population, the need to increase security measures is vital in providing the community with a sense of safety. Since the assault of a faculty member by a former student last spring, the Glendale Police department has enlisted the services of more security personnel to patrol the campus grounds, stepped up awareness programs for crime prevention, and improved emergency call boxes and lighting throughout campus. They've also added the new emergency text messaging system to their arsenal. Collazo says, "We offer services such as these, patrolling the parking structures, we offer escorts late at night, and a lot of traffic enforcement because we are always getting people who speed through the area. We have a lot of cadets patrolling the campus, so there's always an officer around."
Though these improvements may offer a sense of safety to all those who enter Glendale College on a daily basis, it is still premature to assume that they will hinder criminal behavior. According to the crime statistic data offered to the public, the total number of crimes reported for 2006 including, but not limited to assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, is lower than that of 2005, dropping from 13 to 8 incidents at the Glendale campus alone. However, from 2006 to 2007, the number of crimes reported increased from 8 to 14, slightly higher than what was reported in 2005. The data for 2008 is not available yet, and it remains to be seen if these numbers are affected by the new security measures that have been put in place. One comfort for some students and staff at Glendale College is that none of these statistics included heinous crimes such as hate crimes, murder, manslaughter, and all sex crimes. There were also no arrests for weapons laws violations in any of the three years.
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