Rutgers, City of New Brunswick announce new security measures
Archived article from Mar 29, 2004
By Pam Orel
Rutgers and the City of New Brunswick will expand security patrols in the Fifth and Sixth Wards in response to concerns about student safety in those areas.
Safety concerns were heightened recently when, in two separate incidents, students living off-campus on Stone Street were the victims of violent crime, including sexual assault and robbery. Three men have been arrested; a fourth is being sought by police. City police are still investigating whether the two incidents are related.
From now through the end of the spring semester (May 12), pairs of uniformed community service officers, who are part of a trained student security force within Rutgers’ Division of Public Safety, will patrol the two wards daily from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. They will augment already expanded patrols by campus and city police. Patrolling on foot, on bicycles and in marked cars, the student officers will provide an enhanced security presence in the area near the College Avenue campus and will be in constant radio communication with Rutgers police headquarters. At the end of the semester, the initiative will be evaluated and a decision will be made about its continuation.
The initiative is an outgrowth of meetings that included New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick, and city and campus safety officials. The university is reviewing possible additional security measures.
“I am pleased to announce this joint effort between Rutgers and the city to enhance the protection that we both provide to our students and other community residents,” McCormick said. “While our students must always be mindful 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.”
The community service officers also will begin other assignments on and near the campus, such as riding buses that travel between the College Avenue and Cook/Douglass campuses during the evening. The officers will get off at certain stops to provide an increased security presence in designated bus-stop areas. The student officers also will ride the NewBruns QuickShuttle, a bus traveling in the Fifth and Sixth Wards.
Student community service officers are undergraduates who must complete 40 hours of rigorous security training. Operating on all Rutgers campuses, the student security force includes more than 100 students and provides a range of services, including enhancing security at athletic events and assisting the Rutgers police with administrative programs. Community service officers have been deployed to address security concerns at campus parking lots; they also serve as drivers for the “Knight Mover” shuttle service, a late-night campus shuttle bus operating 2-6 a.m.
Community policing officers from New Brunswick and Rutgers will supervise the community service officers.
For a complete listing of all safety services on the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses, visit http://publicsafety.Rutgers.edu/ .
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