Campus Security-Rearch paper for Criminal Justice class CCJS451. Outlines need for more security at U of Maryland
CCJS451
Campus Security
Campus security is an ever-growing concern throughout the United States. Parents want their children to be safe while continuing their education away from home and students want to feel and be safe while living on campus. The University of Maryland at College Park has had a constant battle with campus security as incidences have increased on and around campus. The University of Maryland is located between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, a "hotspot", concentrated with high levels of criminal activity.
In 2002 there were 17 sex offenses, 9 robberies, 12 aggravated assaults, 140 burglaries, 86 motor vehicle thefts, 136 drug related arrests, and 9 illegal weapons possession arrests on Maryland's campus (UMD Crime Statistics). These statistics represent only on campus incidents and have varied tremendously over the past three years. Statistics would be much higher if they included areas around campus. Variations over the years can be attributed to increase in police presence, as well as many security precautions implemented over the past years.
Universities have taken many precautions to battle crime on and around campus. "One of the newest techno-trends on American college and university campuses is tipping campus police to illicit activity by filling out online forms posted on the department's World Wide Web page" (Campus Crimes...). Colleges such as Duke University, the University of Georgia, and MIT have already implemented such programs and have been very successful (Campus Crimes...). Narcotics activity and burglaries have seen significant reductions. Students and criminals participating in illicit activities now have to be fearful of other peers who may "rat" on them. There are, however, downsides to such tactics. False accusations could become a problem. So far, of the 100 universities already using such technology "90 percent of the information received over the university's campus police Web site has been 'significant'" (Campus
Campus Security
Campus security is an ever-growing concern throughout the United States. Parents want their children to be safe while continuing their education away from home and students want to feel and be safe while living on campus. The University of Maryland at College Park has had a constant battle with campus security as incidences have increased on and around campus. The University of Maryland is located between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, a "hotspot", concentrated with high levels of criminal activity.
In 2002 there were 17 sex offenses, 9 robberies, 12 aggravated assaults, 140 burglaries, 86 motor vehicle thefts, 136 drug related arrests, and 9 illegal weapons possession arrests on Maryland's campus (UMD Crime Statistics). These statistics represent only on campus incidents and have varied tremendously over the past three years. Statistics would be much higher if they included areas around campus. Variations over the years can be attributed to increase in police presence, as well as many security precautions implemented over the past years.
Universities have taken many precautions to battle crime on and around campus. "One of the newest techno-trends on American college and university campuses is tipping campus police to illicit activity by filling out online forms posted on the department's World Wide Web page" (Campus Crimes...). Colleges such as Duke University, the University of Georgia, and MIT have already implemented such programs and have been very successful (Campus Crimes...). Narcotics activity and burglaries have seen significant reductions. Students and criminals participating in illicit activities now have to be fearful of other peers who may "rat" on them. There are, however, downsides to such tactics. False accusations could become a problem. So far, of the 100 universities already using such technology "90 percent of the information received over the university's campus police Web site has been 'significant'" (Campus