Student Safety
UK Students who attended
PCW speakouts
during the Spring Semester of 2002
identified SAFETY as the single
MOST IMPORTANT issue
women students face
on University of Kentucky campus.
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

Educational Programs
offering seminars on
personal safety, theft
prevention, workplace
security, alcohol
awareness and police
procedures and
services.

UK Police Officers are
available to discuss all
of these issues with
groups or individuals
including free
seminars, open
forums, informational
programs or personal
interviews.
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

Bicycle Registration:
provides for easier
recovery in case of
theft.

UK’s Operation
Identification is a
nationally recognized
property identification
program in which
property is engraved with
a personal identification
number and that number is
kept in a safe place along
with the the property’s
serial number and
description. UK also
provides Bicycle
Registration.
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

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Rape education and
prevention programs
including:
Free self-defense
classes
Counseling services
for rape victims
24 Hour Rape Crisis
hotline

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UK Police Department is in the
process of creating a selfdefense program called STARR
(Self-defense Techniques And
Risk Reduction). UKPD
expects this program to be
available starting Spring 2003.
UK Police are qualified to
provide informational seminars
on various safety topics
including date rape, sexual
assault, stalking, etc. upon
request
24 Hour Rape Crisis hotline is
available to UK students
(Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center
24-hour crisis hotline
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK


Anonymous Tip
Hotline for students to
report crime and not
reveal their identity
Crime Alerts to inform
students when crime
occurs near their
residence hall or on
campus


UK Police
Department’s website
provides phone
number and email for
students to
anonymously report
crime
UKPD provides Crime
Alerts on website
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

24 Hour Security in
Residence Halls
including
controlled access and
self-locking doors.

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Residence halls provide
security procedures such as
desk service, security patrols,
staff on duty, hardware and
restricted access plans.
All visitors must be signed in
and out of the halls and leave a
photo ID at the front desk. All
visitors are to be escorted at all
times and visitation hours are
enforced.
Stairwell fire doors and corridor
doors are self-closing and selflocking. Residence hall policy
restricts these doors from being
propped open.
However…


Residence halls are in need of better security.
Often, desk clerks pay no attention to who is
entering, exiting, etc. Many times on sign in logs,
UKPD will find fictional names, e.g. Mickey
Mouse, etc. All residence halls should be equipped
with 24 hour access control, limiting access to
only those residing in the building, along with a
professional staff to enforce this policy.
Inconsistency between residence halls policies is a
problem. Different dorms have different rules.
Access needs to be restricted and regulated
consistently across campus in all residence halls.
For Example:
At Ohio State, campus residence halls are
locked 24 hours a day. To gain access,
students must use their student ID cards to
open an outside door by swiping a magnetic
card reader. Students without ID cards or
hall guests may request access by using a
foyer telephone to talk with the hall desk
staff.
http://www.osuhousing.com/FAQ/faq-safe.html#one
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

Continual Campus
Police Patrol

UK Police maintain three
overlapping shifts with officers
in patrol cars, on foot or on
bicycles to provide 24-hour
campus police coverage

UK’s Adopt-A-COPP (Campus
Oriented Police Program): UK
Police officer updates residents
on crime statistics for their
residence halls, implements
crime prevention measures for
student residents, conducts
educational and safety
programs, and assists with
maintaining physical security of
the building.
However…..
Despite UK’s extensive growth of both
property and enrollment, the UKPD has the
same number of officers as it did 29 years
ago.
 The ratio of UK police officers to UK
students on UK campus is 861 students for
every one officer.

How do we compare?
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In a 2001 study of twelve SEC schools conducted by the University
of Arkansas, UK designated .15% of the budget for the UK Police
Department. This amount was the fourth lowest of all SEC schools.
LSU, which ranked highest, allocates .91% of their budget to their
campus Police Department.
In a 1995 study examining all U.S. campus law enforcement
agencies of 4-year colleges’ and universities’ serving 2,500 students
or more,, the U.S. Department of Justice reported an average of
1.5 sworn officers per 1,000 students. UK falls below this average,
with a current average of 1.2.
The U.S. Department of Justice also reported in 1995 that public
4-year universities spent an average of $94 per student for law
enforcement operating costs. According to the University of
Arkansas study of SEC schools, UK spent $61.69 per student in
2001, the lowest of all SEC schools. The maximum spent per
student in this study was $194.02 at Vanderbilt University
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

Good exterior
lighting to ensure
security for
students walking on
campus after dark.

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UK Police have adopted the
recommended lighting and
landscaping levels established
by the IACLEA and exterior
lighting is checked weekly by
third shift officers. Students
also have access to campus map
showing best lit areas to walk
after dark.
UKPD Crime Prevention Office
is in the process of conducting
detailed security surveys after
dark to check on lighting,
landscaping, emergency
phones, etc.
However…

No “safe walking route” is clearly marked
on campus. Without a map, students cannot
easily know which areas are perceived as
unsafe. Many places on campus are unsafe.
UKPD would like to see a designated “safe
walking route” that would provide very
brightly lit walkways unimpeded by
landscaping in the high pedestrian traffic
areas at night.
For Example:
University of Wisconsin Madison’s “Lightway” is a
network of well lit sidewalks and paths for pedestrians
that are adjacent to campus buildings and marked by
reflective Lightway logos affixed to light poles.
Existing Programs at Benchmarks
and at UK

Emergency phones
located across campus
which connect directly
to the campus police
department.

19 emergency phones
are located across
campus. When phones
are activated by
pushing red button,
blue strobe light is
activated and UK
Police are contacted
and know location
without verbal
communication.
However…
We are in need of more emergency call boxes around campus.
Presently there are:
 No emergency phones in the William T. Young parking
garage
 No emergency phones in Commonwealth Stadium or in the
surrounding parking lots
 No emergency phones in the main Medical Center or in the
Medical Center parking garage.
 Only one emergency phone in the South Campus residence
hall area, one in North Campus residence hall area, one in
Central Campus residence hall area, and one in Lexington
Community College
How do we compare?
University of Iowa.
16 emergency phones
29,000 students
University of Kentucky 19 emergency phones
30,900 students
University of Georgia
25 emergency phones
31,000+ students
University of Illinois
40 emergency phones
38,000 students
North Carolina State
93 emergency phones
28,000+ students
Texas A&M Univ.
90 emergency phones
45,000+ students
Ohio State University
105 emergency phones 48,000 students
University of Michigan 105 emergency phones 38,000+ students
University of Virginia
170 emergency phones 18,000+ students
University of Maryland 193 emergency phones 34,000+ students
More Emergency Call Boxes?
 UKPD
recently submitted a
proposal for an additional 70+
emergency call boxes to the
administration and has had no
response.
Benchmark Safety Programs
NOT existing at UK
 Escort
Services
to ensure a safe
walk/drive
home for
students on
campus after
dark.

No escort service is
currently available for
UK students after
dark!!
*SGA has sponsored this for many
years. Last year this responsibility
was taken from the Air Force
ROTC program and given to the
Farmhouse Fraternity, who has
declined to do it again this year.
Currently no one has taken on this
responsibility, although the UKPD
is working to reinstate a campus
escort service.
Benchmark Safety Programs
NOT existing at UK

Video recording units in public areas
including on buildings, light poles and
inside of Police Emergency Reporting
Phones
University of Maryland
http://www.umpd.umd.edu/programs_and_services/vidfaq.htm
Benchmark Safety Programs
NOT existing at UK
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As a preventive safety measure, Campus
Student Conflict Resolution and Mediation
Services is responsible for providing
conflict resolution assistance to students
including informal assistance, mediation
services, presentations and courses.
-University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu/judicial/witness.asp
Benchmark Safety Programs
NOT existing at UK

Yellow Cab Ride Program- Campus Police department, in
cooperation with Dean of Students Office sponsors a program for
students who may find themselves in situations where they need a cab,
but do not have the money to pay for it. The Dean’s Office contracts
with local cab company so that students with a valid student I.D. can
sign a “chit” for a taxi ride. The bill is then paid by the Dean of
Students office, and the student reimburses the Dean’s office at a later
time. In this way, students who must travel alone at night, or students
who may have had too much too drink, can get home safely even if
they do not have the cost of a cab ride with them.
-University of Virginia
http://www.virginia.edu/uvapolice/
Possible Resource:

As a result of the Violence Against Women Act of
1998, Congress appropriates 10 million dollars for
the Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against
Women on Campus Program every fiscal year.
This program is administered by the U.S.
Department of Justice Violence Against Women
Office. Information and applications for FY2003
grants will be released December 16, 2002.
Application deadline for FY03 is February 18,
2003.
Student Safety…
is not a task exclusive to the UK Police
Department. The safety of UK students is
an issue that requires a collaborative
effort of administration, faculty and staff
in order to ensure campus security.
Possible Safety Initiatives?
What can be done to improve the
safety of students,
especially women students,
at UK?