The Graduate and Professional Student Council focused on initiatives for campus services and safety at its meeting Tuesday night. Clarence Birkhead, chief of the Duke University Police Department, spoke on behalf of Campus Services and outlined actions recently initiated to maintain and improve safety in the future.
Birkhead announced the arrival of Public Information Officer Leanora Minai, who began working earlier this week. Minai will be the spokesperson for DUPD and will participate in formulating new strategies of action to prevent crime.
Three armed robberies, one attempted robbery and other crime-related incidents have been reported this semester, Birkhead said, noting the need for continued safety vigilance.
“We all have the responsibility for our own safety,” Birkhead said.
Birkhead, who has acted as DUPD chief for the past six years and liaison to the Department of Campus Services since its inception 18 months ago, emphasized the importance for students to be aware of their surroundings. “We are working a very safe campus here, and our main effort is to minimize the opportunity for crime,” he said.
Birkhead said 20,000 people, 13,000 of whom are students, work within the 16 square miles of Duke’s open campus on any given day. The University is also a location that attracts about 2 million visitors each year.
Describing how DUPD oversees the safety of a region this size, Birkhead explained that the security force currently consists of 145 members, 65 of whom are commissioned police officers. Safety is enhanced by annual training of this force, a communications center, a 400-piece Blue Light system, an investigative unit and many other measures.
Birkhead said “the area assailants have focused on” in recent on-campus incidents is the region just east of Central Campus. In addition to East, West and Central campuses, he also mentioned that at least 20 officers work at any given time patrolling the Duke University Medical Center as well as the Duke Forest and Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Although DUPD gained a broader jurisdiction in 2003, Birkhead said he prefers to operate in the defined area around campus.
In other business:
GPSC members Kellye Kirkbride and Rachel Lovingood reported on their involvement at the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students Conference held recently in Pittsburgh, Pa. The conference focused on reviewing legislative platforms of the organization and the Higher Education Act, which is soon due for re-evaluation by the federal government.
Sara Becker, GPSC treasurer and a graduate student in psychology, called for the need to create a group funding committee to help allocate money to student groups. Becker noted the need for continuity and leadership in a decision-making body to allocate about $30,000 annually.
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