New Safety Initiatives

March 23, 2004

Current New Brunswick/Piscataway Security Services

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Recent violent crimes committed near the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick have caused understandable concern and anxiety. As the investigation of these crimes continues, please know that safety is a top priority for Rutgers and that the city is equally committed to protecting our students as effectively as possible.

Today, the university and the City of New Brunswick are announcing a joint effort between the Rutgers and New Brunswick Police Departments to enhance the protection that both departments provide to our students and other community residents. Starting next week, fully trained student Community Service Officers will patrol the 5th and 6th wards of New Brunswick from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., seven nights a week. These nightly patrols will continue through the end of the spring semester, when we will evaluate the initiative and make a determination about its continuation.

As these officers perform their patrols on foot, on bike, in marked vehicles, and on the New BrunsQuick shuttle, they will provide a clear, uniformed presence in the area around our College Avenue campus. Working in pairs and maintaining instant radio communications with police headquarters, these officers will serve as the eyes and ears of Rutgers and New Brunswick police.

The officers will be supervised in their new assignments by both departments' Community Policing Officers. Their overnight patrols will augment the patrols that New Brunswick and Rutgers police already conduct (and have recently increased) in the 5th and 6th wards near campus. While our students must always be mindful of the fact that we are an urban university, we believe these patrols will both deter crime and bring a measure of security to our many students who live in these areas of the community. We are grateful to Mayor Cahill and the New Brunswick police department, which will incorporate these patrols into its Neighborhood Watch program.

The RUPD is taking another important new step to enhance public safety by assigning uniformed Community Service Officers to patrol Rutgers bus routes on the College Avenue and Douglass/Cook campuses during evening hours until the buses stop running each night. These officers will be assigned to ride the buses, get off at designated bus stops, and await the next bus on the loop, thus providing patrol protection both on the buses and at the bus stops. This service will begin next week.

These new initiatives further the ongoing efforts of the Rutgers University Police Department to provide a safe and secure campus environment for all the members of our community. These efforts include 24-hour patrols in marked police vehicles, night patrols by uniformed security officers, a host of escort services,and physical security measures such as building access controls, extensive security lighting on university property, "blue light" emergency telephones, and increased use of closed circuit television cameras in public areas such as parking lots and building entrances.

In addition to these general efforts, the university also provides direct assistance in a number of ways.

If you live off-campus, Community Policing Officers can provide a security survey of your residence. Call 732-932-7211 to arrange a security survey.

If you are on campus at night and need transportation to your residence hall, Busch and Douglass run library shuttles from 7:30 p.m. to 2:20 a.m., and the New BrunsQuick shuttle runs from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. between the New Brunswick train station, the 5th and 6th wards, and College Avenue. Later at night, the Knight Mover service (call 732-932-RIDE) is available for all students who need a ride to another campus location or nearby off-campus locations.

If you need an escort to your residence or car at night, you can request a Security Officer Escort from the Rutgers University Police Department by calling 732-932-7211.

The Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway police website (http://publicsafety.rutgers.edu/rupd/) has information on these and other important programs to protect and serve the Rutgers community. I encourage you to visit the website's "Safety Matters" page at http://publicsafety.rutgers.edu/safetymatters.htm and post the information in a convenient location in your residence.

Please also be aware of the university's Department of Sexual Assault Services and Crime Victim Assistance. In addition to assisting crime victims through crisis intervention, counseling, and advocacy, this department provides programs and services to help reduce your vulnerability to crime. Call 732-932-1181 or visit its website at http://sexualassault.rutgers.edu.

Even though the recent crimes that have drawn our attention took place in New Brunswick, please know that our commitment to safety is universitywide. I have asked the provosts in Camden and Newark to review their procedures and services and come back with possible recommendations for improvement. In the meantime, I suggest that you visit the websites of our Camden police (http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/%7Erupdcamd/) and Newark police (http://nwkpolice.rutgers.edu/RUPD_UniversityPolice.html) to learn more about our efforts on these campuses.

The university community is at its best when everyone feels safe and secure. The new initiatives and ongoing services I have outlined here are designed to enhance your protection and provide you support in preventing crime. Please take time to become familiar with these efforts, and do not hesitate to seek assistance if you need it.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey