Coming into a semester that promised more students and potentially more issues than previous years, UH police were expecting a certain measure of chaos during the first two weeks of the fall semester.
Instead, they have experienced a more peaceful campus than ever before, to the point where UH Police Chief Malcolm Davis can even joke about job security worries.
“This has been amazing,” Davis said.
“We have more students faculty and staff than ever — it should be an absolute zoo — but everyone’s taking it in stride.”
Davis said that police have seen more smiles and a better general attitude among students, despite bigger crowds and parking issues.
Throughout his 28 years serving on campus, Davis said that this has been the smoothest start to a semester he has ever experienced.
“This is the best semester,” Davis said. “It’s absolutely wonderful. We all got the results we wanted.”
Economics senior Karl Palmberg has also noticed a safer, more positive atmosphere around campus.
“Honestly, police are doing a pretty good job,” Palmberg said. “There’s a lot of people who enrolled, but the attitude’s pretty good so far.”
Davis said that in addition to the parking lot security kiosks initiative, police have not altered their daily operations this year as opposed to previous semesters.
They have yet to pinpoint what exactly made these opening weeks such a success.
According to Davis, police have yet to hear about any serious campus crime. However he says that the most common issue police hear about is theft. He advises students to remember to properly secure their vehicles and possessions.
Palmberg, who is entering his third year at UH, works at the MD Anderson Library and echoed Davis’ sentiment.
“Stuff gets swiped from there all the time, just from people getting up and leaving,” Palmberg said. “There isn’t much police can do about that though.”
This semester, UH has also brought in an increased number of freshmen and transfer students.
Davis said that because many of these students have just left for the first time, they can be easy targets for criminals.
“Freshmen mainly get caught in dorms,” Davis said. “They need to remember to lock their dorm rooms. For commuters, you take valuables or leave in the trunk.”
Davis also mentioned that general apathy and student detachment is another issue contributing to crime, and advises all students to stay aware.
“Some people walk around totally oblivious to things around them,” Davis said.
“It’s a matter of education, be cognizant of what goes around you.”
Nice to see this story posted next to a campus crime report on Page 2.
Yoyo, they've been running Campus Crime reports in the paper for a while now. UHPD being optimistic about the semester does not mean campus crime will be eliminated. When there is a campus that is crime free, please let me know. If you read the article it states that thefts are still a problem and if you read the crime reports you will see that over half of these theft reports are by students who left their items unattended and unsecured. UHPD cannot be everywhere. People need to be aware of their surroundings and take responsibility for their own items. UHPD does plenty of crime prevention presentations to students, sends out messages, and even had a 2 page add in the Daily Cougar with great advice for students on how they can do their part of keeping their property safe.
It was the juxtaposition of the two that was amusing.
so police say there's more smiles and a better attitude and we just accept that there is a phenomenal change going on on campus and this is going to be a great year and go cooogssssssss
where's the evidence? they keep crime records – you could have at least asked him to quantify it.
In my opinion, I think with more students and staff, most would-be criminals would tend to avoid serious crimes. With the likelihood of witnesses and cameras, it'd be dumb to do that.
As far as thefts go, if there's no physical break-ins or direct contact with thieves, then those items are likely lost or weren't secured well. Just make sure you lock stuff up, and check you have everything before you go.
It'd be nice if we could get a handle on the sexual assaults. If UHPD won't institute a zero-tolerance policy of these incidents, the men of the campus should band together and institute one ourselves.