Stockton is a scary place.
The city is bankrupt. The police department is cutting back resources.
We hear about muggings, robberies and homicides everyday near places that are close to home.
So it’s no wonder that when we go to a campus located in Stockton our minds are set in a world of crime.
It always feels like someone is watching us in the dark, waiting to get us when we are most vulnerable.
In support of our paranoia, we always hear about crime committed on campus.
It would appear crime is on the rise.
Ask any student about it he or she would probably tell you that the incidents on campus were getting worse.
But if anyone were to go through the crime reports they would see that this campus isn’t any worse than it was in the past three years.
Truth be told, the ones who are watching us aren’t the scary burglars hiding behind bushes, but are the men and women of our campus police.
The reason we hear more about crime is because of the department’s effort to report incidents through the use of campus-wide emails and Facebook updates.
The men and women who protect us also take up an assertive presence on campus by questioning those who appear to be “suspicious.”
Some students might feel this is unfair, but the accuracy of this procedure can’t be replaced.
Experienced officers know what to look for, and if you aren’t guilty of anything than what have you to hide?
In these cases safety is more paramount to comfort.
It’s easy to blame campus police for every sexual assault and burglary that happens at Delta.
The department is using every resource it has. Those rare spaces where crime always prevails isn’t a result of lazy officers, but a reflection budget limitations creates for us all.
Because of the department’s excellent ability to do more with so little, The Collegian thanks the campus police for the hard work keeping Delta College from becoming like the rest of Stockton.
