Police push awareness, responsibility
Campus, city officials
tout walking in
groups, taking the
shuttle, locking doors
Steven Uan Haren
EDITOR
Campus and city police are
stressing personal awareness and
accountability to help reduce crime
at the start of the school year.
“USC: Use sense and caution,”
said Ernie Ellis, director of USC’s
Law Enforcement and Safety
division. “I think it’s most
important for people to be very
aware of their surroundings.”
Ellis said some students aren’t
used to a metropolitan area, and
should walk in groups and use the
shuttle system at night.
“So many students ... are from
areas that are not as large as
Columbia, and their feeling of
safety there is probably much
greater,” Ellis said.
Ellis suggested students learn
the locations of the more than 100
campus callboxes.
“Callboxes provide a great deal
of personal comfort, in that if you
familiarize yourself with their
locations, help is within two
minutes,” Ellis said.
Campus police still recommend
securing bikes with U-locks, Ellis
said, even though some versions
can be opened with a pen. Ellis
said someone with wire cutters
could more quickly steal a bike
secured with a chain and padlock.
“People could be as close as 15
feet away and not realize what’s
going on,” Ellis said.
Skot Garrick, public
information officer for the
Columbia Police Department,
stressed property protection inside
dorms as well as outside.
“Keep your door locked,”
Garrick said. “Try to be aware who
lives in your hall, and if you see
someone you’re not familiar with,
call campus police.”
Garrick said auto break-ins are
crimes of opportunity, and
suggested students put valuables
such as cell phones, cell-phone
chargers, CDs, cameras and laptop
computers in the trunk. He called
such break-ins “one of numerous
preventable crimes.” He also
stressed watching one’s vehicle
during move-in.
Ellis said Student Government
had done its part for car safety
during the summer, funding
camera expansion in the Blossom
Street Garage.
Garrick also discouraged
underage drinking.
Some officers are marked,
some officers are undercover,”
Garrick said. “The bars work in
conjunction with us because they
can be fined heavily for providing
alcohol to underage drinkers.”
For USC crime statistics and
safety tips, go to www.les.sc.edu,
where police also post campus alerts.
For immediate assistance from
Columbia police, call 252-2911.
For more information, call 545
3500 or go to
www.columbiasc.net/cofc_pd.html.
Garrick said the police department
would be getting a Web site under
its own domain in the fall.
Ellis said safety extends beyond
school.
“We’re very much of the
opinion that when you come to the
university ... we want you to take
away lifelong ideas of safety,” Ellis
said.
“We want people who are
coming to Columbia for the first
time to enjoy life as a student at the
University of South Carolina,”
Garrick said, “... but that calls for
a level of commitment on their
part as well as to be aware and just
to be diligent.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocknews@gwm. sc. edu
JESSICA ANN NIELSEN/THE GAMECOCK
USC has more than 100 callboxes. Campus and city police
suggest students know their surroundings and be vigilant.
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