Campus cops curb crime

Safety is a high priority on college campuses, and North Lake College is no exception to the rule.

Statistics from the seven colleges in the Dallas County Community College District show North Lake is one of the safest campuses.

“I think we are a safe campus, considering the statistics,” said Danny Morris, North Lake’s police chief. Statistics found on the North Lake Web site agree with Morris’ assessment.

While the crime rate of violent crimes and major property offenses have been low in comparison to other DCCCD schools, the rate of minor theft is comparable to the district‘s other schools.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s yearly publication of crime across the United States, called the Uniform Crime Report, reported that, during the years of 1999-2002, the number of reported thefts at North Lake remained fairly steady at between 24 and 55 per year.

Morris said that North Lake employs 14 full-time and four part-time police officers. He said that officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7days a week.

In 1990, an act was passed on the national level called the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, but is more commonly known as the Jeanne Cleary Act. The act says that all colleges must publicly disclose crime statistics for the previous three years. It also grants students, employees, the general public and the press access to a police log covering specific reported crimes from the previous 60 days.

Morris said that he has assigned two officers to the task of updating the police portion of the North Lake Web site so that it complies with an amendment to the Jeanne Cleary Act passed in 1998.

Students can report criminal activity on campus in several ways. One way is to visit the police station and report a crime in person. Dialing 911 on any campus phone will automatically put the caller through to the police.

Call boxes located across the campus buildings and parking lots may also be used.

Morris said, “If you feel uneasy, we should look into it,” and encourages students to report suspicious activity or people on campus.

When someone reports a crime to the police, Morris said an officer will write up an offense report, which will be passed along to one of two investigators. They investigate the crime and take statements from the complainant and from others involved in the reported crime.

Depending on the offense, the police have the option of filing charges with the Dallas County DA, or it can be taken to the college administration as a student disciplinary referral.

“We really use a lot of discretion,” said Morris. “I don’t want to throw a student in jail for a Class C misdemeanor.”

He added that he wants students to be aware of suspicious people and activities on campus, and to watch their personal property at all times. “We can’t watch everywhere at once,” he said.