NCJ Number
200587
Journal
Campus Safety Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 16-19
Date Published
June 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses six measures that can improve security at campus parking areas.
Abstract
At colleges, universities, and even secondary schools, there is perhaps no area of campus more susceptible to crime than parking lots and structures. In addition to crimes against persons, there is also vehicle theft as well as the theft of property from vehicles. In any parking lot or structure, the key to security is visibility. When parking patrons can see potential threats from a distance, they can take steps to avoid those threats. In addition, when security measures are obvious to potential criminals, there is less likelihood they will strike. The security measure that should thus have top priority is lighting. Lighting design should focus on illuminating driving and pedestrian areas and ensuring the elimination of shadows where attackers might hide. A second security measure is the pruning and thinning of any landscape areas around the parking area, so criminals do not have places of concealment. A third security measure is surveillance. More and more campuses are installing closed circuit television systems to monitor parking areas. Such systems are only as good as the monitoring system, however. Both parkers and potential criminals must have reason to believe that they are being monitored by security personnel to prevent crime rather than to view a crime on video tape after it has happened. Another important security tool that can easily be installed are emergency phones. These phones provide parkers direct access to security personnel just by picking up the handset. A related technology that serves a similar function is the panic button, which sounds an alarm when pressed. Other security measures are added security patrols and the use of signs to announce the security measures present in the parking area.