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GREENSBORO — A new college year dictates new approaches to old problems. In this case, it’s campus crime.
 
UNCG and A&T police officers are enhancing their campus safety plans with updated communications tools and patrol vehicles in hopes of preventing thieves from snatching those shiny new laptops or worse.

“If you see something, say something!” — that’s the UNCG Police Department’s new motto and approach to fighting crime.

Officers are enlisting students, staff and faculty to immediately call  about suspicious activity. Police  can’t be everywhere at all times, they say, and witnesses shouldn’t assume someone else has reported the incident.

“Obviously, if we increase awareness and people feel more comfortable calling us, maybe it’ll discourage criminals from campus,” said UNCG police Maj. Paul Lester. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The slogan was originally used by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority , which began placing posters in subways in 2003  to remind people to be vigilant.

Theft is the university’s No. 1 problem, Lester said.

In 2010 , UNCG police said, 50  cars were broken into, and 46  laptops and 25  bicycles were stolen.

“In the past, when we’ve been able to catch people who were stealing stuff out of residence halls, it was because somebody took the initiative and called us when they saw them,” Lester said. “And we got over there in time to catch them before they got gone.”

UNCG police will continue to use the SOS alert system, which the department launched in the spring. Officers can simultaneously send one message through multiple channels in less than 30 seconds, Lester said.

The alerts will reach people through Twitter, Facebook, campus email, network pop-up and text messages. The notices will be less than 140  characters to comply with Twitter’s limit.

Messages about emergencies — a gas leak, a fire or an active gunman — will  give people instructions on what to do as an incident unfolds, Lester said.

Other messages will make  the university community aware of an event  such as an unarmed robbery the night before.

“ We’re doing all we can to get the word out as quick as we can,” Lester said.

For the second part of the alert system, police distributed 300  devices to campus departments — mainly to receptionists — that act as panic buttons that alert police of crisis situations. 

 The device, which is about the size of an MP3 player, tracks the user’s location through GPS. When the red button is pressed, the user’s photo and location on campus is displayed for police. Officers can reply to the user with silent messages that are shown on a small LCD screen; if the user is hiding, this will prevent the assailant from knowing the user’s location.

The devices can even send alerts during power outages.

At A&T, police are focusing on being more visible.

They are rolling out on a new three-wheeled patrol vehicle called the T3 , a battery-powered, stand-up scooter much like a Segway. The university bought two T3s  for officers who already are patrolling on foot, on bikes and in cars.

The vehicles can go up to about 20 mph.

Patrol cars can’t travel everywhere, said A&T police Chief Glenn Newell , so the bikes and T3s allow officers to reach more areas and increase visibility to deter crime.

The university also will establish a program just for women.

Rape Aggression Defense  classes for female students and faculty members could start next month, he said. The instructors, one female officer and one male officer, will teach  self-defense techniques. UNCG has a similar program.

A&T police also increased the number of sworn and unsworn officers this year and will continue efforts to reduce loitering on campus by the outside community on party nights.

In 2010 , officers started checking student IDs at 9:30 p.m.  nightly. They also set up a checkpoint at Laurel Street  and John Mitchell Drive  to prevent people from gathering after 9:30 p.m. on the weekend.

“It wasn’t uncommon for cars to drive down Mitchell Drive, music blaring and double parking, creating a safety hazard,” Newell said. “We have basically cut off traffic that we once had in that area.”

A&T Chancellor Harold Martin found himself in the middle of the shutdown late one night.

Soon after the policy was instituted, he was working late at the office and left to go home after 10 p.m. He drove to several of his usual exits only to find them locked. He had to call security to ask how to get off campus.

Police departments on both campuses can patrol off-campus apartment complexes where students live.

UNCG and A&T have an agreement with the city of Greensboro that allows university police officers to patrol the streets surrounding the apartment complexes and make arrests for crimes that occur in their presence.

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com