With people being back on campus after being gone for so long, we might all need a refresher on how to stay safe.
Did being on lockdown make people more or less vigilant of the world around them, and how has this translated to people’s behavior on campus?
“The pandemic made people more aware, and that’s directly as a result of being cooped up,” said Support Services Sergeant Jim Bock of the San Joaquin Delta College District Police. “My personal house, internet usage went way up, with more people streaming on their devices, becoming engaged in the news…just by proxy that provided more opportunity to research.. Honestly we see people happy to see some semblance of normalcy, and because they’re informed, they want to see the safety of themselves and others.”
Unfortunately, the dependence on smart devices during Covid has led to problems.
“The biggest mistake is they’re living in their smart devices, heads buried in their phones, not paying attention around them,” Bock said. “In general over the years, we’ve seen more accidents where people trip over something. Typically when we have a crime on campus where it involves a suspect and a victim, almost every time the victim has been wearing headphones in both ears, or doing something like looking at their smart device and were distracted.”
What precautions can students take?
“One of the biggest messages we want to get out is: listen to music, that’s fine. Just keep an earbud out. When you’re walking, try to keep a partner. Keep your head up so you’re not distracted. Safety is a two way street. Safety starts with individuals making good choices,” said Bock.
Every year, in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, San Joaquin Delta College releases a “Clery Annual Security and Fire Report.”
This report details the Clery crime statistics from the year prior, with Clery crimes being separated into four distinct categories. Category 1 is primary crimes, which includes murder, non negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, arson, burglary, robbery, and motor vehical theft as well as sexual offenses including rape, fondling incest, and statutory rape. Category 2 is classified as alcohol, drug, and weapon violations, including liquor law violations, weapons possession, and drug abuse violations. Category 3 includes hate crimes, with hate crimes being defined in the Clery Act as “a criminal offense that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias against the victim”. These crimes include any of the above listed crimes, as well as larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, and destruction, damage, or vandalism to property. Category 4 crimes are defined as those which engage in violence against women, which includes dating violence, stalking, and domestic violence.
In 2020, the total Clery criminal offenses dropped to three, as compared to seven in 2019 and 12 in 2018.
Bock partially attributes this drop to the campus closures due to the pandemic.
“Anytime it shows lower crime statistics is a good thing. Even though we are one of the safest public locations in the county, the reduction… We already had a low crime rate. But that reduction was definitely impacted by the long campus closure,” Bock said.
Crimes that don’t meet the requirements to be a Clery crime, but are still an offense, have a similar trend. The largest crime on campus is petty theft.
“People leave things out, somebody swipes it. Next would be disturbances, People getting into arguments. Naturally because we didn’t have a lot of people on campus throughout that closure, it was definitely impacted,” said Bock.
One of the higher numbers seen is for arson. The Clery report states that for 2019, there were three cases of arson on-campus property, which make up nearly half of the seven Clery crimes in that year.
“We did have several arsons in 2019. With fewer people on campus during the pandemic, there have been more encounters with homeless persons. We were constantly having issues where we were locating homeless persons,” said Bock. “Any of the arsons we have had were typically associated with a homeless individual. Their intent was to start the fire. We had a portapotty recently that went up in flames. They just want to stay warm, but then it gets out of control…. A lot of the arsons we show up to in the area are actually off campus in the College Square area.” No buildings have been damaged by these fires.”
According to Bock, the police department is prohibited from removing homeless individuals from campus by law. “By law, community colleges are public land. One of the biggest criticisms the police department gets is ‘Why aren’t you doing anything, they don’t belong here’. While it makes many people uncomfortable to see an obviously homeless person walking through campus… because by law we are an open campus, they have a right to be here. So long as they are not actively causing a disturbance, we cannot prevent them from being here.”
Bock states that a lot of the homeless people they deal with are repeat customers. “One of the biggest things we focus on at the police department is that we are very empathetic to those who are disproportionately impacted. [The police] are always providing them with resources and assistance… some we have even transported to get that assistance. Our main goal is to balance their civil rights with the safety of students, staff, and faculty on campus. We want to provide the safest educational experience possible.”
A fencing project was approved by the Board of Trustees, which will include security fencing around campus to combat the issue of homeless on campus and the addition of more security cameras. Dr. Amanda Nelson made a comment in an Oct. 5 Board of Trustees meeting that the fencing “should be up within the next couple of months.”
Even with the addition of fencing and awareness to your surroundings, there are precautions you can take to ensure your safety — especially as it begins to get dark earlier.
San Joaquin Delta College has partnered with Rave Mobile Safety. The Rave Guardian app allows you to get into an in-person class without having to fill in one of those COVID forms every time. The RAVE app doesn’t have to be used on campus, and can actually be used anywhere in the world, and can let emergency responders know the last place you were, so if you need help or do not respond, they know where to go. In addition, you can live-chat with the police department, and talk to the police department live with an option to do so anonymously. You can call the district police straight through the app. Open the app, and hit call 911. This function helps to relieve stress and anxiety during an emergency.
In addition, there are 45 blue light emergency phones on campus which are directly linked to district police.
Bock ends with one final piece of advice. “We want to make sure everyone knows that they can do safety escorts. You can call us through the app, or chat through the [RAVE] app, or call us directly through a blue phone. If you don’t feel comfortable walking to your car or to a specific area on campus… Maybe you had an argument with someone off campus and you don’t feel safe walking from building A to building B… You can call us up, and keep in mind we don’t have to hold your hand. We can stand away and just be in the area for you, so you feel more comfortable as you walk from point A to point B. We’re also more than happy to walk alongside you and share a great conversation as we walk you to your car.”