Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

DPS Continues to Up Security

Due to the recent crime surge on campus, which has included multiple burglaries and laptop thefts, the Department of Public Safety is bolstering its on-campus security with a lineup of new preventative measures.

In response to the increase in laptop thefts at Lauinger Library, DPS is meeting with library staff next week in order to discuss the risk factors for Lauinger. One problem, according to Smith, may be the inadequate library space, which students try to reserve by leaving their laptops as place markers.

“I know that library study space is limited, but leave your coat and take your laptop. The thief isn’t after your coat – he is after the laptop,” Joseph Smith, associate director of DPS said.

Ultimately, Smith said, the goal is to prevent crime, not just to catch criminals after the theft. Though making arrests is an integral duty of law enforcement, the ideal solution is to lessen the opportunity for crime, he said.

“If we can change the underlying conditions, we can prevent it in the first place,” Smith said. “To me, it’s a partnership between DPS and the students, and they can help us out by not leaving doors open and laptops out.”

Earlier this month, DPS introduced new nightly security checkpoints at both the Canal Road and Prospect Street entrances to campus. At the checkpoints, which will be operational between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m., DPS will determine whether or not drivers have a legitimate reason to be on campus and provide instruction and directions to drivers who may be lost.

According to Smith, the added security measure is part of an overall security intensification that has also included an increase in uniformed security personnel, especially in Village A.

“We felt it was important that we strengthen our visual presence,” Smith said.

According to Smith, measures have been taken to improve the lighting at Village A and to strengthen the security of doors and windows in the upperclassmen apartments. DPS is also working on a program to educate students in best security practices in order to prevent future crimes.

“The vast majority of our losses are because of unlocked doors and windows and unattended property,” Smith said. “I think that there’s a social aspect [in leaving doors unlocked], but there’s kind of a time and a place for everything.”

Students have reacted well to the new security measures, saying that the greater DPS presence has given them a little more presence of mind.

“If I come home from [Lauinger] at one in the morning and see three security officers, I definitely feel safer,” Village A resident Nikhil Lakhanpal (MSB ’13) said.

Brett Harris (MSB ’13) agreed, adding that the decrease in the number of email alerts achieves the point of the increased security around Village A.

“There was a week a few weeks ago where we had [many] alerts, and now we haven’t had nearly as many,” Harris said.

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