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4:00 p.m., March 14, 2003--UD and Newark police have formed a joint task force, putting additional officers on patrol, in response to a recent spate of street crimes in Newark.
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| Newark Chief of Police Gerald T. Conway (left) and UD Director Of Public Safety Lawrence O. Thornton |
“We are stepping up our crime prevention and investigative efforts by strategically scheduling uniformed, plain-clothes and decoy officers during late night and early morning hours when most of these robberies have occurred,” Newark Chief of Police Gerald T. Conway said. “By putting more police on the streets at night, we can respond more quickly, apprehend more suspects and get better descriptions of those who get away.”
Twelve additional Newark police officers and two extra UD police officers are now patrolling city streets and areas adjacent to the campus from 9 p.m.-4 a.m., boosting police presence at night by more than 25 percent.
“We are putting a lot of extra officers out there on foot and in marked and unmarked cars, especially on weekend nights,” Conway said. “We have targeted a variety of locations where we think police presence will do the most good.”
As part of the task force effort, members of the Newark Police Department also are meeting with representatives at area apartment complexes to make sure they are aware of lighting and safety issues.
Since the beginning of the year, 23 robberies have been reported in Newark, three of them on the UD campus. In two of these cases on campus, arrests have already been made. UD students also were victims in six other robberies in the city, and Newark Police have made arrests in two of these crimes, the most recent of which was the arrest of three men responsible for the carjacking of a student at an off-campus apartment complex.
Six of the Newark robberies were of commercial establishments, and two of the cases are termed “home invasions.” In these, police believe a specific residence is targeted, usually in a situation that involves drugs.
Street robberies account for most of the crimes and do not follow a clear-cut pattern, since they occur in numerous areas in the community, according to Newark Police Capt. William Nefosky. Likewise, the street robbery suspects have varying descriptions, with little in common, except that they are young males who tend to blend in well with students on the UD campus.
Police point to the economy as a possible cause of the robberies. “We have information from other police departments in New Castle County that they, too, are experiencing the same increase in robberies. National robbery statistics also are up,” Nefosky said. “Crime usually increases when jobs are hard to find.”
“The University of Delaware and the city of Newark enjoy a close association with one another, which is reinforced by our commitment to work together to solve problems, as this new task force demonstrates,” UD President David P. Roselle said. “The negative side of that close relationship is that when the city falls victim to the level of crime experienced by most of the nation, it can be represented in headlines and news reports as occurring on our campus when that is, in the main, not the case.
“The fact that our campus policy is to fully publicize campus-related crime also may contribute to such misperceptions, but our main concern is to keep the University community fully aware of public health and safety issues so they can take necessary precautions,” Roselle said.
The collaborative efforts with the Newark Police Department build on a range of campus safety efforts already in place, Lawrence O. Thornton, director of public safety at UD, said.
In addition to regular campus patrols by police in vehicles, on bicycles and on foot, preventative patrols are conducted by security officers and student police aides.
Last fall, a Residential Patrol Program began that uses teams of student police aides to patrol the exterior of the residence hall areas during late night hours. These student police aides are equipped with two-way radios and wear distinctive uniforms and reflective vests that make them easily identifiable.
“These aides are highly visible and look for such things as doors being propped open, lights out and suspicious activity, as well as serving as an information resource for students,” Thornton said.
Also in the fall, Public Safety’s walking escort program was expanded beyond the campus to include selected off-campus locations. Available during the hours of darkness every night of the week, this free service is available to students, faculty and staff. This escort program complements the availability of more than 200 emergency blue-light telephones (for use in case of emergency or to simply call for assistance) that are in service throughout the campus. Additionally, an extensive transit system operates day and night to transport students around the campus.
Over the past few years, several thousand outdoor lights have been added to the campus, and Public Safety sponsors campus walks with students to determine where new or additional lights may be needed.
For women, Public Safety also offers the RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program, a 15-hour course taught by trained members of the Department of Public Safety.
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