UH has been allotted $400,000 of the UH-System’s $1.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2010 to use toward improving campus security.
This allocation of new resources for campus security spending is nearly 10 times more than last year’s increase of $42,051.
UHPD Police Chief and task force member Malcolm Davis said he is trying to fill 13 vacant officer positions, which Vice President for Student Affairs Elwyn Lee said they should be filled by the end of the month. The positions were created because of the extra money, which become available Sept. 1.
Davis said although he didn’t know about the increase in campus security spending, he would submit a proposal for using the money to the Task Force on Safety at its next meeting later this month. The date of the meeting, which is closed to the public, has not been set.
‘I don’t know of any specific dollar figure, and I haven’t been sent one,’ Davis said. ‘I wouldn’t ask for one, either.’
Davis wants to base his recommendations on crime trends, new programs and exploration of new technology.
‘One of the things in the proposal will be additional personnel,’ Davis said. ‘It will (involve) people and programs that are cost-effective and increase perception of security.’
He said staff ID cards and uniform changes are some other things he wants to include in the proposal.
Davis also said his main goal this year is changing the perception of UH not being safe and for officers to make relationships with members of the community, so that they don’t feel cut off or unwelcomed from the University.
‘I’m looking long-range; not the next six months, but for the next five years,’ he said.
Davis said that people’s idea that UH is unsafe because it is in the Third Ward could not be further from the truth.
‘The university has always has been in the Third Ward. Always will be,’ Davis said. ‘It’s not as bad as people think.’
Davis said he wants officers to go the extra mile and break barriers with students to open lines of communication and create positive law enforcement experiences.
‘There are 45 of us and 36,000 of you,’ he said. ‘A lot of it has to do with what can you do to help us make it safe, because the person we’re trying to make safe is you.’
SGA President and task force member Kenneth Fomunung said one of the issues he wants to see addressed in the proposal is lighting on campus and improved resources for police officer.
‘They need to have the actual resources to do their job,’ Fomunung said. ‘UHPD resources haven’t been quite adequate. Their resources are limited.’
Fomunung said he wants room in the budget to add more officers, call boxes and cameras.
‘All the safety measures (need to) make sure we have enough personnel on patrol every given night ‘hellip; and increased visibility for both prevention and potential action to use force when necessary,’ Fomunung said.
Fomunung said he hopes the $400,000 will be enough to make the campus safer.
‘We need to get innovative and strategic. We need enough financial commitment to campus safety,’ Fomunung said. ‘It’s a priority, not a luxury.’
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