Receiving safety warning notifications from the University of Wisconsin Police Department puts some students on edge. But as crime numbers fall, campus and city officials are looking for ways to make campus feel safe.
Marc Lovicott, UWPD spokesperson said any increase in safety warnings has to do with the careful compliance with the Clery Act and not with an actual upsurge in crime. In fact, UW is at a 40-year crime low as of last year, he said.
Lovicott said there was especially concern during last school year due to an increase in crime alerts–but that is only because UWPD is working hard to keep up with federal laws.
In the case of sexual assault crime reports, Lovicott said the law can get especially confusing. Even when an incident is not reported to the police, any campus official is required under the Clery Act to report it.
With an incident that was reported just this past weekend and what may seem like a rise in assault cases, Lovicott said some students may respond with fear.
Facing fear of assault
“We believe more and more people are reporting sexual assaults, which can be a little scary when we see the increase in warnings coming out,” Lovicott said.
However, UWPD sees an increase in reported assaults as a sign that people are not as afraid to come forward to campus or police officials, Lovicott said.
Last year, the police department initiated the “Tell Us” campaign which encourages sexual assault victims to report to the police. Since the campaign launch, the number of reports doubled.
“We need more people to talk about this, to tell us so we can do our jobs,” Lovicott said.
With national statistics reporting that 20 percent of college-aged women experience sexual assault, women can feel especially vulnerable. That is where SAFEwalk, a program through the university’s transportation services that gives walking escorts to students on campus, comes into the equation.
Becca Wanta, a UW sophomore who works with SAFEwalk, said while the program is available to everyone, women are more likely to use the service.
“We’ve seen a lot of talk in the past year about sexual assault and for the university as a whole we need to make sure people understand it is not a tolerable offense,” Lovicott said.
Walking to SAFEty
But Nathan Acevedo, a UW junior and SAFEwalk escort, said SAFEwalk is a more a community building program; it is about Badgers walking Badgers.
“It’s not just about getting to where you’re going. It’s more about walking, talking and getting to know someone,” Acevedo said.
Acevedo said SAFEwalk does much more for campus safety than just offer walks from one location to another. From time to time, SAFEwalk escorts will help find places around campus that are poorly lit due to burnt out bulbs, or they will find residents who need help and haven’t had the opportunity to call SAFEwalk services.
Acevedo remembers a specific walk when he built a strong relationship with the student who called on the service.
When Acevedo and his team member found the student, she was crying, Acevedo said.
“She explained her issues to us … By the end of the walk, she was definitely calmer. We tried talking to her, and we slowly got to her,” Acevedo said.
During times like these, Acevedo says SAFEwalk benefits the students in deeper ways than just safety. SAFEwalk is a tool for reaching out to students as a peer mentor for those who need it.
“[We] lend an ear if you need someone to talk to,” Acevedo said. “Lots of people will tell you [their] life stories if they get the chance.”
Sometimes, however, Acevedo said he speculates there is a reputation amongst freshman that SAFEwalk is not “cool.” This idea could explain why the service isn’t used as often as it should be, Acevedo said.
Alissa Valeri, a junior who works as a SAFEwalk escort said on a typical shift from 8p.m. to 1a.m., she will go on one or two walks. Occasionally, she won’t have to walk anyone.
Wanta said SAFEwalk is always present on call or in person at College Library for students who want to use the escort service.
She said the program involves two escorts who are connected to the same walkie-talkie radio wave as UWPD.
Kate Moran, SAFE Nighttime Services Coordinator, said a previous security service,SAFEride, disappeared after the summer of 2012, when UW Transportation Services discontinued the program.
One day, Moran said, she read in the newspapers that ASM was disappointed by how SAFEride was managed and some believed that students were abusing the service.
Moran said the issue was a very sensitive topic and there were many factors that went into the final decision. Debates over creating a library night time shuttle or other means of transportation tailored off over the past few years and discussions on bringing back such a service seemed to stop, Moran said.
Lovicott and Moran agree that although the current services on campus do a great job at providing safety for students, conversations like these could lead to ideas about more campus safety programs to develop in the future.