How students utilize Public Safety on-and-off campus
The Office of Public Safety and Security at Saint Joseph’s University is made up of three shift captains, six shift lieutenants, and 76 officers, who all work to keep students safe both on- and off-campus, as well as in the areas surrounding campus where many students choose to reside.
There is a sense of security for students on-campus that is reflected by the campus’ safety measures.
“I think in general, the campus is well lit. There are emergency call boxes, people are alert to who else is here, and Public Safety walks the campus,” said Mary-Elaine Perry, Title IX and assistant vice president for Student Development.
There are still many precautions that students are encouraged to take in order ensure their safety, particularly as students leave main campus.
“There are things that students can do that are going to reduce their likelihood of being victimized. And there are other behaviors that students will often, and do, engage in that increase the likelihood of being victimized,” said Arthur Grover, director of Public Safety.
Grover listed the following factors which increase a student’s risk of becoming a victim: walking alone late at night, choosing to engage a shortcut through an alleyway, a driveway, or an area that is not well lit, being impaired, and being distracted on their personal device.
These factors not only increase the risk for the student, but also decrease the risk of the perpetrator.
“Last year, we transported 200,000 [students] from destination A to destination B,” Grover said. “All of them, 1,000 percent arrived at their location safe, sound, and unmolested. There is not many things in life that you can point to that are 1, 000 percent—that is one of them. I urge students to think about that and to use those transportation services that are free for them.”
These transportation services are not limited to students who live on campus, but also extend to those students who choose to live in off-campus housing. St. Joe’s campus, which is slightly over 100 acres, has over 250 blue light emergency phones, according to Grover.
“I honestly don’t think I would use the blue light system because I don’t know when I hit the button what is going to happen,” Richard Foronjy, ’19, said.
The blue light system is something that is discussed on every tour of the university; however, many students are unaware of the response if they were to press the emergency button.
“I know hitting the blue light would send a warning sign to whoever I am in danger of, but at the same time I feel calling or using my cell phone is going to be a much more productive way and I can be mobile with my cell phone,” Foronjy said. “I would love to know, if I hit the blue light [when] I feel endangered, is it going to make a noise to get people aware of what’s happening or is there just a Public Safety officer sitting there from their desk in the Office of Public Safety talking to me?”
Grover discussed the importance of the emergency blue light system on campus through the Supplemental Services Program, which allows private institutions to hire officers on an armed basis.
“They create two things in my judgment,” Grover said. “Number one is the perception of safety because they are everywhere and they are immediately available. If a student needs [a public safety officer], two things happen: A student can activate the button and is immediately speaking with my dispatcher at Public Safety to be able to describe what the problem is, meanwhile we are responding. The second piece of that is we now have an integration capacity which allows cameras in the immediate vicinity to focus in on that area, so we get a chance to keep our eye on the student in real time while they are experiencing whatever they are experiencing.”
Grover also encouraged to students make sure they are signed up for the emergency notification system.
This system alerts students when an incident occurs, relaying information about the incident, what they should do or shouldn’t do, and any further actions that are necessary in order to maintain their safety.
In addition to these Public Safety features, St. Joe’s also hires armed Philadelphia Police Officers on a daily basis.
“Saint Joseph’s has elected to hire armed Philadelphia professionally trained police officers to augment our staff,” Grover said. “There is a program in the Philadelphia Police Department called the Supplemental Services Program where private institutions, like us at St. Joe’s, get to hire, on a contracted basis, Philadelphia Police Officers, in uniform, with a car. And we pay a fixed dollar amount for every hour they are here. They report on duty at Public Safety headquarters, they get one of our radios… We give them a deployment schedule, [and] a patrol map where we get to tell them what to do.”
These officers proved valuable on Nov. 7 at 11:05 pm, when a male St. Joe’s student who was walking alone was robbed at gunpoint.
“The Philadelphia Police Officers, hired by Saint Joseph’s, arrested both of the perpetrators in that incident,” Grover said. “The officers were there immediately working for us and they arrested the two perpetrators and our student got his belongings back. There is the utility of that resource in real action.”
Perry also encouraged that students utilize all of the services that Public Safety offers.
“They have both a phone number and an online form where people can report things that they see, not urgent… but if a student sees something that is concerning or something that may not be safe or have witnessed a situation… People can report anything, if lights are out somewhere or graffiti, etc.,” Perry said.
Grover noted that while it is the job of Public Safety to make sure students are safe, students themselves should not be worried about their safety.
“Students come here, they have a mission that they have to accomplish,” Grover said. “Many of them are indebting themselves and paying a lot of money to come here. I see worries about personal safety as a distraction that potentially can keep students from reaching that goal that we are all here for… I don’t want students to be overly worried and overly concerned. I need you to be preoccupied about it.