Editorial: We need cameras in parking garages
Dec. 2, 2008
Parking garages are scary places. They are dark and big and there are a lot of objects to hide behind. Only two parking garages on campus have cameras and there's no timetable set to install cameras in garages that don't already have them.
But with Jordan Paul taking office next semester as Missouri Students Association president, this can change, and Paul should follow through with his plans to make campus safety — specifically installation of cameras — a key priority.
If MSA needs to spend student fees to get these cameras in place, we're definitely behind them — though the administration must acknowledge and address the problem as well. Students feel unsafe and statistics show parking garages aren't secure. Investing in student safety should never be up for debate.
The MU Police Department and administrators need to pay attention to student concerns and realize that "security procedures" in place like Safety Walk don't find criminals and catch them, but more surveillance in parking garages can.
Off-campus Columbia garages experienced a drop in crime after installing cameras and they have less crime than on-campus garages without cameras. Period. While they don't constantly monitor these cameras, they use them when trying to catch criminals after crimes have occurred and the cameras deter potential criminals once they know they're there. CPD said it well — people feel safer in parking garages.
Four years ago, a visiting professor was killed in Maryland Avenue Garage. The case is still unsolved. And while we know that violent crimes like this are not an extremely common occurrence, the potential for these to occur in unmonitored areas is something that needs to change. And while violent crimes aren't nearly as common as incidents of theft and vandalism, prevention of these crimes should also be actively considered.
So let's not only make students feel safer, let's make them actually safer.
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- We need cameras in parking garages — Parking garages are scary places. They are dark and big and there are a lot of objects to hide behind. ...
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