MSA releases safety report

Most immediate concerns were related to Campus Facilities.

By Allie Blood

Published May 2, 2008

After the April 15 Campus Safety Walk, the Missouri Students Association Department of Student Services published a report that outlines their findings and recommendations to improve safety on campus.

When highlighting the major concerns from the walk, DSS Director Jordan Paul said the majority of the immediate concerns, such as lighting, were related to Campus Facilities. Members of Campus Facilities were on each route along with MSA and officers from MU Police Department.

“Campus Facilities was actually aware of a few of the concerns, for example, the lights burned out outside of Plaza 900, and was already in the process of ordering replacement bulbs,” Paul said.

MUPD’s chief concerns were the blue lights, Paul said, and a blue light at AV-14 parking lot was not flashing when pressed. Paul said they are in the process of addressing this concern.

While MUPD does regular blue light safety checks, they also work year round to make sure MU is safe for students.

“The department is always looking for ways to actively improve safety on campus; we don’t wait for Safety Walk to make improvements,” MUPD Capt. Brian Weimer said.

In the report MSA outlined three categories that concerns can fall into: immediate concerns, dangers and concerns. They are listed here from most to least severe.

Immediate concerns included an exposed light pole, a damaged vehicle barrier and a missing valve cover. Paul said the immediate concerns will be addressed first.

Dangers merited action as soon as possible, and included a burned out light near Wolpers Hall and other hazards such as low hanging branches covering lights.

Concerns will be investigated when time and resources are available, such as clearing overgrown brush or exploring the possibility of newer blue lights in AV-14.

The last two categories will be addressed, but the effectiveness of these measures cannot be determined.

“There is no specific way to measure the effectiveness of any single act (of crime prevention),” Weimer said.

While Paul said he hopes to have fewer and less severe concerns each semester, Weimer said crime will always exist on campus.

“The more prevention measures the better, but we like to tell people that you can do everything exactly right and still be the victim of a crime,” Weimer said.