The CSUN Police Department offers a number of services for students to aid in the prevention of crime on campus.’ The 24-hour police station provides personal safety escorts for students on campus as well as helpful classes.
The escort service is available to students Monday through Thursday from dusk until 11 p.m.
‘They get the information as to where you need to be met, what building, what time your class gets out just so that they know where to find you, and then someone will meet you at your location and walk you back,’ said Christina Villalobos, CSUN’s Public Information Officer.’
‘If at anytime you do need a personal safety escort and that system is not in place because it is either after the time that it stops running, or if its on a weekend or during times when school is not in session, you can always call police dispatch and request a personal safety escort from a police officer as well,’ Villalobos said.’
If students experience a break-in to their vehicle, ‘the most important thing to do is report it as soon as possible,’ Villalobos said.’ ‘ She added that students are reluctant to report the problem because of time concerns or they don’t think it will help their situation.’ Reporting it can help detectives and the crime prevention unit in their investigation.’
If there are patterns of criminal behavior in the time of day or in certain areas, they will put out a crime alert to the campus of what is going on and what you can do to prevent instances.’
‘If its obvious that someone has broke into your vehicle if the window has been broken or the door has been tampered with don’t touch it because that allows the officers to lift fingerprints and to take other evidence and when you touch it or you drive your vehicle somewhere else it compromises the evidence that they are able to take,’ Villalobos said.
STOP is a program that started in 2006 and is targeted primarily for laptops in which a plate and warning sticker are put on the item to deter theft.’ The program costs $10 and can also be used on iPods and other small electronics.
‘First it’s a visual theft deterrent, and the second is it acts as a way for us to find the owner if the property is recovered,’ Villalobos said.
Once you register, it’s registered for the length of time that you own the laptop.’
Graphic design major Dennis Valansi, 23, did not know that CSUN offered this program.’
My computer is worth a lot of money and I don’t know what I would do if it got stolen,’ Valansi said.’ ‘I am going to go to the police station this week and register my computer.” ‘
The Rape Aggression Defense Systems have partnered with the department of kinesiology to offer a class that gives self-defense tactics and techniques.’ The R.A.D. class will run for the whole semester and count as one unit through the kinesiology department.’ A more condensed class is offered in a 12-hour format which takes place on four separate evenings.’
There are also emergency blue light phones located throughout the campus and are to be used for emergencies only.’ The phones dial directly to the campus police and will tell them the location you’re calling from.’ If you have an emergency on campus, it may be faster to use these phones.’
‘Dialing 911 from your cell phone does not connect you to our police department; all 911 phone calls that originate from cell phones are connected to the highway patrol,’ said Villalobos.’
LAPD will have to transfer you to CSUN police and it will save you a lot of time to use these for emergencies.’
There are four yellow TTY emergency call boxes located on campus designated for the deaf and hard of hearing population so they are able to get in touch with dispatch.
The Amber light patrol is another service in which officers drive with their overhead amber lights on during the hours of darkness.’ ‘ The patrol also provides free jumpstarts or key lock-out assistance to vehicles parked on campus.’
The Department of Public Safety offers three safety classes in the fall: The Basics of Pepper Spray, Identity theft, and Motor Vehicle safety.’ ‘ These classes teach how and when to use pepper spray, how to prevent identity theft and how to change a tire along with vehicle safety.
‘We don’t have a particular area on campus that’s prone to crime,’ Villalobos said.’ ‘It can happen anywhere and it does.’