Within 24 hours of Sunday's armed robbery of a student at the Bryan Center ATM machines, the Duke University Police Department announced it was stepping up its patrols and urged community members to increase their own vigilence regarding security issues on campus.
Although these measures are justified, it is disheartening that it took such an incident to convince the DUPD that these changes were necessary. By Chief Clarence Birkhead's own admission, the campus has experienced a surge of crime in recent weeks, including robberies on Central Campus, East Campus and in the School of Law parking lot, as well as an increase in car break-ins, vandalism and solicitations by non-certified taxicabs.
So why did it take an armed robbery in the Bryan Center for DUPD to finally decide to take such action?
The obvious answer is that the latest incident took place in a high-profile, high-traffic location, in broad daylight, not more than 10 feet from DUPD's West Campus sub-station--to a student, no less. Almost every other incident occurred in a less-traveled area of campus, but apparently none of them warranted an increase in patrols at the time.
Furthermore, in an e-mail to community members Tuesday night, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask wrote, "We are also going to be raising our security presence in the Blue Zone, which people have told us feels unsafe." Stop the presses. Duke Student Government leaders and others have been complaining about a lack of security in the Blue Zone for years, and DUPD and University officials have pledged year after year to heed their advice to increase safety there. Now that they are prepared to do it yet again, it makes you wonder whether they have been keeping their word all along. The same holds true for many of the other safety changes across campus, from increased police presence to improved night-time lighting. These promises seem to have become the standard for whenever a high-profile crime takes place on campus.
If DUPD wants to increase patrols, they should start where the latest incident occurred--in the part of the Bryan Center closest to the new parking deck, an easy entry point for criminals. But DUPD should also focus its efforts on less-trafficed areas, such as Central Campus, outlying parking lots and the Medical Center.
Perhaps more important, however, is that security doesn't become an issue that fades from the DUPD and University's memory once finals are over and most of the campus takes a well-deserved winter break. Officials should be prepared come early January to offer campus leaders a detailed report of the improvements that have been made, their immediate impact on crime, and critically, what is on the horizon for the spring semester. It should not take another armed robbery for this to become a hot-button issue.
Community members should be prepared for DUPD's increased patrols, which will likely include random checks. The easiest action students, employees, faculty and staff can take is to simply carry or wear their DukeCard on them at all times. If the DUPD is now prepared to increase their efforts in making campus safer, the community should play its part as well.
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