Recently, I have become aware of the increasing number of robberies and muggings on Wayne State’s campus. It all started just a few weeks ago when I checked my WSU e-mail from the Campus Watch newsletter and read a special crime alert on Sept. 4.
I skimmed over the e-mail rather quickly and deleted it, not giving it a second thought. After all, what did I care about someone who had $20 stolen from him? Soon afterwards, I received yet another e-mail about a robbery that took place on campus on Oct. 14.
This time, a student had his cell phone and wallet stolen. Once again, I deleted the e-mail without too much thought.
It was the third and fourth special crime alerts that made me realize that I should start paying attention to what was happening on campus. The third robbery occurred on Oct. 24 when a student had his iPod stolen. The fourth robbery transpired on Oct. 27.
Two male students were robbed on campus, and one had his Blackberry phone taken from him. This time, I was not so quick to forget about the crime alert because I am often on campus after dark and I realized that I should be aware of crimes happening around me.
Now, all of a sudden, I do not feel safe on campus after dark. Walking the few blocks to my car after my two 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. classes has become a mission filled with caution and paranoia.
What worries me more is that all the victims of the crimes were male, which suggests to me that a female is even more vulnerable.
I know it must be quite difficult catching a robber long after the robbery has taken place, but it is unsettling to not know whether anyone has been apprehended and that justice has been served.
An e-mail is sent out the day after a robbery to warn staff and students, and although it is helpful to a certain extent, it is not enough to make me feel safe.
It is pretty obvious that there is an increase in the number of crimes that occur on campus, especially around 9 p.m. For a while, I was a bit skeptical about whether campus police were even helping because the offenders were not found and the stolen items were not returned to the victim.
Thankfully, a recent e-mail sent out by the campus police made me realize that they are doing all that they can to help.
In the e-mail, the police addressed the number of calls they have been receiving about the crimes committed on campus.
Luckily, there will be an increase in police in plain clothes who will be patrolling the campus, free seminars will be held offering safety tips, and students and staff members can call the campus police at anytime to be accompanied on their walk if they feel unsafe.
I think that it would also be a good idea to increase not only the plainclothes officers on campus, but also officers in uniform to deter crimes.
It is about time that we take a stand against crime committed on campus. It is the responsibility of the campus police to protect WSU students, and it seems that the right actions are being taken to help decrease the number of robberies.
I certainly want to feel safe on campus and I am sure the rest of the students and staff members do as well. I look forward to seeing more police on campus, especially after dark, and hopefully fewer e-mails about robberies taking place.
