Recent crime events in College Park must cause us to reevaluate our safety. In the past week, University of Maryland have received numerous campus alerts detailing alarming situations such as armed robberies, knives, and most recently, a murder-suicide. College Prowler ranked the safeness of this campus as 1278 out of 1287 other schools. Although these crimes mostly occur off-campus, Terps on campus still should be aware of their surroundings. The area surrounding the College Park campus is filled with college students, who are often targeted during these robberies.
College Park is renown for not being the safest area, especially at night. Several times throughout the week, phones beep in the middle of the night vaguely detailing the next UMD alert. For those on campus, safe in their dorm, all they can do is briefly roll their eyes, say, “Oh, another crime alert,” and go on with their business. Students love to joke about “Crime Time,” the period between 2 and 4 am where “no good can ever come of what you’re doing.” Students are advised to not be walking around at this time, or to stay with a group of people. Walking in groups of two can still make a person vulnerable.
For others, not on campus, the threat is much more real. “It makes me scared to go out after hours, or even walk back to where I live down Route 1,” said Junior dietetics major Aya Heshmat. “I know College Park isn’t the safest place, but knowing crimes have been getting more prevalent does not make me feel safe at all.”
Freshman journalism major Jamie Weissman added, “ As a college student, you never want to feel unsafe where you go to school, but the reality is that these things happen.” Armed robberies seem to have a growing occurrence. College Park’s proximity to an urban area seems to cause an increase in crime. The robbers often times have little affiliation with the school.
On February 14, Police Chief David B.Mitchell sent out an email about the recent crime events occurring near campus. He wrote, “We have increased our presence and visibility in the areas where armed robberies occurred – both on foot and in vehicles. We’ve reached out to students to raise awareness and conducted nighttime escorts.”
Mitchell also advises students to be aware of their surroundings and to be concerned if any of these behaviors are noticed:
● Verbal aggression – expressing uncontrollable anger, hostility, or frustration
● Persistent disorderly or substantially disruptive behavior
● Unusual, bizarre, or disturbing behavior
● Threat of violence or physical harm – in person, over the telephone, or through electronic means
● Destructive behavior – causing damage to property
● Stalking behavior – pursuing another person
● Act/s of violence – striking, pushing, or assaulting another person
● Possession of a weapon
To stay safe on and off campus, do the following. Travel with a buddy. Always keep your phone on you. Take notice of the blue light system. Report any suspicious behavior.
Safety needs to be a priority on this campus. Please be safe Maryland Collegiates.
Top photo credit: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2…
Bottom photo creidt http://www.washingtonpost.com/…