Editorial: Increased communication key to safer campus

With a recent uptick in crimes around UCLA receiving widespread attention from regional news media, this board believes we can all contribute to increasing the safety in and around campus.

As a concrete first step, university police could do a better job sending crime alerts to the general public, informing them of recent crimes, making sure they are on the lookout for suspicious activity and ensuring they take all necessary safety precautions.

It is important to note that university police already prioritize alerts for crimes like sexual assault and robbery and try to get them out as soon as possible.

For their part, students could also do a better job at reporting crimes to the police. While some crime alerts are not sent out until hours, and sometimes days, after the reported crime, this is sometimes because of the lag between the occurrence of a crime and when it is reported, said Nancy Greenstein, a UCPD spokeswoman.

Faster reporting of crimes would mean the general public could be informed in a more timely fashion and would give police a better chance at arresting a suspect.

Students and police could also work together in a more coordinated manner to help increase the safety in the area surrounding UCLA.

While university police have taken measures to ensure students program campus emergency phone numbers into their phones during orientation for incoming students, they should expand their outreach to other media.

This could include a tutorial on how to sign up for the crime alert listserv, which is not well publicized at the moment; increased flier distribution; and regular updates to social media pages with crime alerts and updates.

The most effective thing the UCPD can do to increase safety is to go to the students. University police should expand their crime alert posts to the North Village in Westwood to reach a larger portion of the student population.

While university police work to alert communities on campus about crimes, the students in the North Village, where many of these crimes actually occur, are often left in the dark about these incidents.

In the same way that UCPD works with building managers and the Office of Residential Life, it can work with landlords in the North Village to post crime alerts on bulletin boards.

Another alternative is to post crime alerts at places of high foot traffic, such as the intersection between Gayley and Strathmore avenues.

Finally, the UCPD can take advantage of the reach of social media to publicize crime incidents. Although it has a Facebook page, the site was last updated in 2011. As many students are already on social media sites, it seems an easy way to keep students in the know.

UCPD has reached out to and continues to work with the undergraduate student government, but all students can contribute their input. With all of us working together, we can work toward a safer UCLA.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.