CCBC Stresses Safety Following Robberies on College Campuses



Safety on college campuses has been on the minds of students and staff after several incidents that have made the news.

Several robberies of students occurred on or near Baltimore colleges recently, and an apparent armed robbery occurred at CCBC Essex two weeks ago. UMBC also had a weapon incident on campus, while Towson University and Loyola each had armed robberies near their campuses

Area college officials said that college campuses are vulnerable, but they believe they have systems in place that keep students and staff safe.

While the armed robbery that happened recently on CCBC Essex's campus was a rarity for the CCBC campuses,that does make Manuel Lewis feel any better.

"If it's one, it's one too many," said Lewis, the interim director of public safety for all of the CCBC campuses and properties.

Since the robbery, which happened Nov. 12 in the early evening hours, public safety officers have been stepping up their patrols throughout all three of the campuses in Essex, Dundalk and Catonsville.

"These campuses are vulnerable," Lewis said. "There is not an imaginary line or a gate that seals off unwanted people."

Still, robberies on any of the campuses are a rarity, according to college crime statistics. In 2009, there was one robbery on the Essex campus and none in Dundalk or Catonsville. In the most recent incident on the Essex campus, a man walked up behind a women and put something in her back and implied he had a gun.

College officials said they already have a system in place to deter such crimes, so the reaction after the incident was more to remind students about taking precautions.

"We try to remind students that we have all these things in place," said Hope Davis, the director of media relations for CCBC.

The college has blue emergency lights in the campus parking lots, as well as an escort service that is available for students to use when walking to their cars. The college is also continuously assessing campus lighting and discussing how they patrol the campus, Lewis said.

Since the incident occurred at Essex, more students have been taking advantage of the escort service, Lewis said.

"People are more aware of their surroundings and more aware of the services available to them," he said.

The college employs 66 people who work in public safety across all campuses. CCBC is working to certify all of their full-time public safety offices through an eight-week police academy program. Currently, there are 18 certified officers and five non-certified officers. The college also employs 40 people who work in the department part time.

Officers work eight-hour shifts and patrol the campuses on a 24-hour basis, Lewis said. By the end of the spring, all officers will have gone through the academy.