Parking at North Lake College remains free, but students could soon be required to place numbered decals on their vehicles, officials say.
J.C. Drake, North Lake's police chief, said he hopes to have the decals ready for distribution by the start of the fall semester.
"The decals will help the police department track down and catch those students who commit [illegal acts], such as theft and hit-and-runs," Drake explained. He said there will be no charge for the decals.
Lack of a decal could help police identify a vehicle that possibly should not be on the campus, too.
Drake said faculty members will continue to use parking emblems that hang from their rearview mirrors. Students' decals will be placed on their windshields. Each decal will include the North Lake logo and a registered number.
Police officers can use that number to contact students when necessary, Drake said.
Each semester, some property is stolen from vehicles at North Lake, the chief said. He urged students and faculty members not to leave cars unlocked or valuables in plain sight.
Some students are not fans of the planned decal program. Kyle Keaton, a second semester North Lake student, said the decals aren't going to make much of a difference.
"It's just a way for the police department to keep a closer eye on students," Keaton said. "It's kind of lame."
Drake said some kinks remain in planning for the decal program.
If the decals are ready before Aug. 27, students will be able to register their vehicles and pick up their decals during course registration, the chief said.
If parking decals are delayed until later in the semester, students may pick them up at the police department [Room C-204].
After the decals are available, Drake said, students caught without a parking decal could be subject to a fine. He said the amount of that fine has not yet been determined.