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UB reaffirms commitment to campus safety
Security at UB is the responsibility of all members of the university community, Police Chief Gerald Schoenle says.
With college safety and the behavior of campus officials back in national headlines, the people responsible for protecting the UB community are reaffirming their commitment to foster and provide a safe, secure environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors to the university’s three campuses.
“We want to reassure students, parents who send their children to us, as well as the rest of the UB community, that our campuses are actually very safe places,” said Police Chief Gerald Schoenle.
“Security is everyone’s responsibility,” he added. “Working together, the entire campus can reduce the inevitable risks that confront a university of our size.”
In an email to the campus community last week, President Satish K. Tripathi referenced the sexual abuse cases at Penn State and Syracuse University in emphasizing UB’s ethical and legal obligation to foster a safe environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors.
“These events are also a sobering reminder of our own ethical responsibility to contribute to a campus climate that is a safe, secure place to live, learn, work and visit,” Tripathi wrote.
“As individuals and as a university community, all of us at UB are accountable for helping to ensure the well-being of our students, fellow employees and visitors.”
Tripathi and Schoenle pointed out that several university policies and procedures are in place regarding the prevention and reporting of incidents of violence, harassment and abuse.
In addition, New York State laws on child abuse prevention and the federal Clery Act place a legal responsibility on university employees, Schoenle noted. Employees with significant responsibilities for student and campus activities are considered “campus security authorities” and are required to report Clery Act violations. The Clery Act defines campus security authorities as “any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.”
“While these individuals are mandated to report, everyone at the university is encouraged to report violations to the University Police,” Schoenle said.
Information about UB policies regarding workplace violence, harassment and discrimination is available in the UB Policy Library. Click here for information about the Clery Act; click here for information about state child abuse law.
Members of the campus community who want to report a crime can call UB Police at 645-2222 or can report a crime anonymously on the UB Police website.
“While accusations of criminal behavior do not indicate guilt, University Police and other authorities take these accusations very seriously and will conduct fair and thorough investigations into any reports that are made,” said Schoenle. “It is important to note that compliance with the Clery Act and state law is a university-wide responsibility,” he added. “While reporting crimes in many cases is mandated by law, perhaps more importantly, it is the right thing to do.
“Everyone has a role to play in keeping our campuses safe and often this comes down to looking out for yourself and others, and reporting suspicious people and incidents to police.”
The most recent crime statistics underscore the fact that UB is a very safe place to be, Schoenle noted. Over the past two years, the university has made a major investment in installing new security lighting, cameras and blue-light emergency phones on the North and South campuses, he said.
And the university has a comprehensive “UB Alert” notification process to quickly notify the campus of immediate danger. For more information about UB Alert, go to the UB Alert website.
“Crime on campus remains low and the word is starting to get out about our enhanced security measures,” said Schoenle. “Individuals committing crime on our campuses likely will be videotaped by security cameras and will be arrested.”
UB police recently arrested a 21-year-old male robbery suspect on the South Campus after a timely phone call from a student who was being followed by the suspect, Schoenle noted. The arrest and robbery were captured on UB security cameras. He said the arrest could go “a long way” toward reducing the risk of future robberies because police believe the suspect was involved in multiple crimes in the vicinity of South Campus. It was the first time a student had been robbed on any UB campus this year.
University Police consists of 61 sworn officers who conduct around-the-clock patrols and respond to 12,000 calls for service a year. Under Schoenle, UB Police has implemented successful crime-prevention programs geared toward reducing thefts of laptops and reducing theft of property from cars parked on UB campuses.
University Police also has begun several educational programs designed to increase awareness and reduce the risk of crime and violence. These include programs on workplace violence prevention for employees and others on teaching students how to reduce the risk of becoming crime victims, both on and off campus.
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