An Extra Layer of Campus Protection

Campus public safety agencies throughout the United States strive for transparency regarding on-campus crimes

• By Dana Rasmussen
• July 01, 2017

All universities are required to adhere to the same reporting standards detailing the types of crime committed on or near campus. These reporting standards, which are a part of the Clery Act, were recently updated to capture data in regards to the following:

• Anti-gender crimes
• Anti-national origin crimes
• Violence against women
• Domestic violence
• Dating violence
• Sexual assault
• Stalking

With these new reporting standards in the Clery Act, campus security officials are required to include data related to these offenses. This information is accessible by the public and helps prospective students, matriculating students, parents and staff understand a broad scope of the types of incidences happening on a campus.

According to Michael Smith, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety for Lubbock Christian University in Texas, these reporting standards help officers and public safety staff accurately present information to students, their parents and the community regarding campus safety.

“Making sure that the data we share with students, parents and prospective students is as accurate as possible is something we are committed to doing,” Smith said.

To collect, report and share this data, campus public safety agencies need to use public safety software capable of capturing this information. Having a public safety software system that provides campus public safety agencies with the ability to collect this information and generate reports not only enables transparency, but also helps campus public safety agencies predict, prevent and reduce crimes though data analysis.

“With Incode public safety software from Tyler Technologies, we have the tools necessary to collect that data that comes with Clery Act reporting standards and share that information with stakeholders,” Smith said.

In addition to gathering crime information for the Clery Act, campuses using public safety software can use intelligence gathered to identify trends and patterns.

For instance, if law enforcement officers on campus analyze data in their reports and see that bicycle thefts occur most frequently at a certain point of the day in a certain area, then they can increase patrol in that area and reduce incidences.

“We’re able to look at trends, identify patterns and work with public safety officials both on campus and in our community to make our campus as safe as possible,” Smith said. “Having this ability makes me feel confident in talking to prospective students and their parents and letting them know that we work to the best of our ability ensuring that we keep campus safe.”

Keeping campus safe and informing students, staff and the community about public safety measures is an important component on every campus. Tyler offers Incode and New World public safety solutions for campuses across the country.

These solutions are designed to help campus safety organizations better protect their student body and campus community. The unique needs of each campus are met with these fully-integrated and comprehensive solutions.

This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Campus Security Today.