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GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T officials are hoping an increased presence near some off-campus apartment complexes will translate into a safer environment for its students.

The new mutual aid agreement between the university and the city of Greensboro, which was effective Nov. 1, allows A&T officers to patrol the streets surrounding apartment complexes such as Campus Courtyard, Campus View and Collegiate Commons, where A&T students live.

University police Chief Glenn Newell said the effort should deter crime.

“We’re looking for positive results,” he said.

Newell said 65 percent of A&T’s students live off campus and some have expressed concern about their safety. The new agreement includes apartments that are within a half-mile radius of the main campus, he said. It will increase responsibilities for A&T officers.

Newell said the apartments have been incorporated into the university’s patrol plans. Some officers will have to be taken away from their campus duties to handle off-campus patrol. Newell said supervisors will be asked to take over those on-campus duties.

No new officers will be hired initially.

The agreement will be evaluated for 90 days to determine if the new patrols can be handled effectively by existing officers, Newell said.

A&T officers have authority to respond to crimes in progress and to assist city police when asked, but Greensboro officers will maintain primary responsibility for policing areas outside the campus.

The campus has taken other measures in recent months to ensure student safety. More officers were hired and additional security cameras installed by the time students arrived in August for the start of fall semester.

University officials have been in talks for some time with Greensboro police and the city manager’s office about expanding A&T’s jurisdiction in the wake of some violent crimes that occurred off campus.

Greensboro police Chief Tim Bellamy met with Newell and UNCG police Chief Jamie Herring in February about increasing the areas that the universities’ police officers patrol. This followed shootings in January, including a fatal one at 805 Homeland Ave. It’s the site of an apartment complex where mostly A&T students live.

Herring said a new agreement UNCG signed with the city July 31 didn’t add new responsibilities but clarified some issues for his officers.

“We had the ability in the old agreement to make arrests for crimes that occurred in our presence,” Herring said. “But it wasn’t really clear on things like, if we investigate something that was suspicious but not a crime. And traffic enforcement. We had a limited area where we could do traffic enforcement.”

Herring said the new agreement allows his officers to address more traffic issues in areas around campus that are causing safety hazards for students, such as cyclists getting hit in bike lanes.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com