The Department of Public Safety will not increase the number of officers dispatched around the off-campus community in light of two off-campus sexual assaults that occurred Sunday between 1 and 1:30 a.m.

DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that DPS instead plans to redirect officers to areas that have been affected by off-campus crimes, such as the assaults that occurred on the 700 blocks of South Crouse Ave. and Euclid Ave. on Sunday. These areas include places where crime has been a “trend,” Maldonado said, such as Euclid and Ostrom avenues and areas around Marshall Street.

DPS typically has about 20 to 22 cars dispatched on Thursday through Saturday nights and about 8 cars dispatched Sunday through Wednesday nights, Maldonado said. He added that the number of DPS cars dispatched on Thursday through Saturday nights are equal to or greater than the number of Syracuse Police Department cars dispatched in the city of Syracuse.

In regard to off-campus safety, Maldonado said he reminds concerned students and parents that Syracuse is a mid-size city. He added that the number of robberies that have occurred this year are consistent with the number of robberies that occurred last year.

“We’re working and we’re studying and we’re living in a mid-size city in New York, and [we] have crime issues that are consistent with mid-size cities,” Maldonado said.

He added that DPS is continuing to collaborate with SPD on several patrol teams such as the Neighborhood Safety Patrol and the University Area Crime-Control Team, which was implemented in October 2012 following a spike in violent crimes around the Syracuse University area. Maldonado said DPS supplements the salaries of SPD in order to man these patrols.

In an email sent to SU students on Tuesday afternoon, Maldonado said DPS has other security tools besides patrols, such as the placement of nearly 1,000 cameras at the entrances and exits of all residence halls, at parking garages and pathways on and near campus to help combat crime.

Both incidents early Sunday morning involved a male approaching a female student from behind, pulling her to the side and forcibly touching her private area. In the second incident, the suspect also exposed himself to the victim and struck her with his elbow, giving her a black eye and a bloody lip.

The first victim was able to escape the attack when another student approached the area and pulled her away from the suspect. The second victim was able to escape when she kicked the suspect in the groin, causing him to let her go.

Maldonado also addressed the concerns of students and parents, and particularly a concern from Megan Minier, a junior in the School of Information Studies who posted an email she wrote to Chancellor Kent Syverud about the incidents on Facebook on Monday morning.

 

 

 

Maldonado said he responded to Minier’s email about an hour after the chancellor received it and addressed her concerns in the same way he addressed those of about a half dozen other students and parents who also contacted him.

Maldonado added that he sees these incidents from a parental perspective as well because he has two children who attend SU.

“The email we received from Megan is no different than an email I received from another student a month ago when we had a similar question about things that occurred; the only distinction is she put hers on Facebook and the other students didn’t,” Maldonado said.

Maldonado said he has responded to these concerns by providing information about the number of DPS cars dispatched and safety resources DPS offers to students, such as free safety escorts and the LiveSafe mobile app, which Maldonado said is like a “virtual Blue Light.”

In regards to actual Blue Light emergency call boxes, Maldonado said there are no Blue Lights off campus because the university does not have jurisdiction over off-campus streets since they are property of the city of Syracuse.

Published on October 27, 2015 at 6:10 pm

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