October: Costumes, candy, and crime prevention

The month of October usually conjures up images of grinning jack-o-lanterns, bags brimming with candy, and children and college students dressed up as anything from skeletons to superstars.

What doesn't come to mind quite so readily is the fact that October is National Crime Prevention Month. According to Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Officer Linda MacKay, National Crime Prevention Month provides the TUPD with a unique opportunity "to make the Tufts community aware that the TUPD has had and will have many events throughout this month and also the rest of the year."

Though University students consider Tufts to be a relatively safe campus, MacKay and Police Captain Ronald Brevard emphasize that students must be aware of their situations and surroundings: no student is immune to theft, robbery, or assault. Students can, however, protect themselves from victimization by taking advantage of the programs and information that TUPD offers.

During the past month, TUPD has held multiple events to raise campus crime awareness. MacKay cites one such effort, Laptop Security Day, as particularly important because "nomadic computing is really taking hold." According to Brevard, the last several incident reports received by the Police involved unattended laptops which were stolen.

On Laptop Security Day, the Police engraved students' laptops with their driver's license number and state. Students were also encouraged to invest in cable locking device for their laptops _ the TUPD says that leaving items unattended and unsecured is the most common cause of theft of personal property on campus.

Another program designed to prevent personal property theft is Operation Identification, which comes directly into residential halls this month through "Have Trunk, Will Travel." This program offers free engraving and bicycle registration.

When a student registers his or her bike, a tamper-resistant sticker is placed on it. The sticker's number is put in "a database that is never purged, so even if you've left Tufts and lose your bike, (TUPD) can return it to you," MacKay said. "One time, the New Jersey State Police found a stolen bike that had been registered here, and we were able to return it to its owner," MacKay said.

In order to further prevent theft of personal property, Brevard encourages students to keep their dorm rooms locked at all times, even at night while sleeping. Brevard recalled one incident in Lewis: "Two roommates left their door unlocked and were sleeping. When they woke up, almost everything of value was gone from their room _ stereos, TV, everything."

In addition to programs designed to prevent theft, TUPD offers resources to heighten personal safety. There are over 80 blue-light phones on campus, and MacKay "certainly recommends that [students] get to know where they are in relation to where they eat, sleep, and study."

She cited one incident when a person was being assaulted by several youths and pressed the red button on two successive phones as she was running from them. "We were able to apprehend the youths without the person even saying a word."

Although assaults are not common on Tufts' campus, "things like that only have to happen once," McKay said. "It's nice to know that something like [the blue-light phones] is available."

Brevard and MacKay also encourage students to utilize the 24-hour police escort service whenever they feel uncomfortable and especially when walking alone. They also point out the shuttle as a safe mode of transportation from one end of campus to another.

The TUPD-run Rape Aggression Defense classes are a successful personal-safety initiative, judging by the number of students who want to enroll. Offered to women only, the program is available as both a half-credit Experimental College course and as a shorter extracurricular course. "Every woman here should take the course before they leave," said McKay.

In addition to the programs mentioned the "TUPD uses several methods to inform the community when something threatening or dangerous arises," Brevard said. University police post hard-copy safety alerts in residence halls as well as using e-mail and their website to communicate warnings.

"Awareness is key in crime prevention _ students get so engrossed in things that they forget about their belongings and surroundings," Brevard said. And although October is the official National Crime Prevention Month, crime-prevention on a university campus is a year-round project.