Two heads are better than one — that’s why the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Affairs, or OIIR, is teaming up with the University Police Department to create a Community of Caring initiative to reduce crime on campus.
This pilot program had two information sessions this week detailing its plan on how to create a community of caring individuals on campus.
Ross Wantland, assistant director of OIIR, said he wants this initiative to promote a sense of safety, empowerment and a feeling of connectedness to one another.
“As opposed to just looking out for criminal activity, we want to promote everyone looking out for each other,” Wantland said.
Some of the benefits of this program is the opportunity to reduce crime, have a greater sense of responsibility about safety concerns and to promote bystanders’ intervention skills, he added.
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Joan Fiesta, sergeant with the University Police Department, said this larger initiative encompasses the neighborhood watch concept as one component of the bigger idea.
“We have been tasked with getting people to work with one another in a way that will reduce crime,” Fiesta said. “And we are finding that Community of Caring seems to be the model that we chose based on different studies regarding crime prevention on how community models work to actually make communities safer.”
Nick Larson, sophomore in LAS and employee of student patrol, said he is hoping to promote the program in some way at the information session.
“I just really want to show my appreciation for student patrol and tell people that they should actually use it,” he said. “It’s a very important service that the University provides.”
He added that University students can gain the feeling of security and alleviate the sense of worry on campus by being able to trust the person walking right next to them.
Fiesta said she wants students to have a better understanding of what makes a safe community and for them to be active in voicing their concerns.
“If we start small and are successful in our smaller groups, I believe that more people will get into it,” Fiesta said.
Wantland said the increased reports of crime caused people to have an increase in insecurity and fear about their safety. He believes this program will calm some of these concerns.
“When you’re in a community with one another, it’s a lot more difficult to justify the hurting,” Wantland said.
