News
Top-notch security a high priority at UWSP
The Pointer
kbeck271@uwsp.edu
Although National Campus Safety Awareness Month is almost over, the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point campus security is a year-round priority.
Walking around campus, one may notice a few obvious signs of security. Code Blue emergency phones are located at strategic points around the university. These phones, which are tested monthly, are used frequently by people looking for directions, said Bill Rowe, director of Protective Services.
Another familiar sight on campus is the Protective Services car. Protective Services, the university’s law enforcement authority, employs five state certified police officers that carry weapons and make arrests, along with many other staff members.
Protective Services does much more than patrol the campus and make arrests. The organization cooperates with several other university departments to ensure campus security.
Rowe credits UWSP support staff for the success of student safety on campus. Departments that cooperate with Protective Services include Residential Living, Health Services, the Counseling Center, Safety and Loss and Facility Services.
One example of departmental cooperation is the annual campus walk at night. Individuals from several departments assemble and survey the campus at night. The group looks for dark spots, trip hazards, overgrown shrubbery and other potential sources of danger.
“We take a real hard look at the campus in a different light, or the absence thereof light, to try and see if there are any vulnerabilities,” said Rowe.
Another step toward a more secure campus came when Residential Living changed the procedure for entering residence halls and installed prop alarms on the side doors. Rowe considered this a substantial step to ensuring the safety and integrity of the buildings because “a propped door just invites trouble.”
Locking and unlocking buildings on campus is a constant but important task for Protective Services staff.
Several buildings on campus, including the Dreyfus University Center, Health Enhancement Center, DeBot and Allen Center have been equipped with cameras over the last several years. According to Rowe, these cameras are intended for use in “retrospective investigation,” not live monitoring.
Are you more likely to be caught on tape in the future? The answer is unknown.
“Protective Services does not install cameras. The individual departments are responsible for presenting and justifying the need for cameras to be installed,” said Rowe.
Protective Services and cooperating departments on campus aren’t the only ones in charge of campus safety, the student body is.
Rowe encourages students to be proactive in ensuring their own safety. “I think if people use the resources that are available on campus, they’ll have a very safe experience here.”
Protective Services offers crime prevention programs that cover alcohol awareness, apartment/room safety, personal safety, sexual assault awareness and several others.
As the university’s law enforcement authority, Protective Services collects and publishes crime statistics. A quick glance over the 2008 Activity Report shows the largest number of incidents occur under the areas of theft, underage alcohol violation and vandalism.
“I think if you compare these statistics to a municipality of equal size, you’ll find that the statistics at UWSP are substantially lower than what you would find in a municipality. I think that speaks volumes for the people that attend here and also for the people that are entrusted to ensure that students have a successful career here,” said Rowe.
Even though Central Wisconsin seems safe, Rowe warns against falling into a false sense of security. Students at Yale University in Connecticut said they felt safe on their campus until the recent murder case of a graduate student.
“Never allow yourself to be too complacent. Never allow yourself to be too alone, to be too lost, to be too comfortable,” said Rowe.
