Security Week increases awareness

Hopkins’s second annual Security Week, which  provides opportunities for students, faculty and staff to meet the security guards and learn about safety and security, began on Monday and will continue through Friday. The various events are sponsored by both the security team and the Student Government Association (SGA).

“Blue Light Security Week was introduced at the suggestion of the Student Government Association, to promote crime prevention awareness and personal safety,” Lt. Mark E. Long wrote in an email to The News-Letter. 

Last year was the first annual Campus Security week.

“We have built upon last year in order to make events more attractive and conducive for students,” Campus Crime Prevention and Event Security Coordinator Lt. Stephen Moffett said.

The Security Week events include a Beer Goggles Obstacle Course, a BPD Command Post, Segway rides and a trivia game show with Jon Walter, the Shush Lord.

Additionally, there is a week-long scavenger hunt, which sends out different tasks to participants daily. Participating groups have to upload photographs of their completed task onto the Security Week Facebook page.

Five students won the opportunity to participate in a free CPR Certification class on Monday by completing a quiz online.

“It was a great experience,” Katrina Rios wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “Lt. Miller was a wonderful facilitator, and his descriptions of how he’s used CPR to save someone’s life before really made the class richer. CPR is a great thing to know in general but hearing a first-hand account of how it was used to save somebody’s life gives the training a new sense of importance. Despite the odds of ever having to use it in real life, it feels good knowing I’m prepared to help somebody if the time ever comes.”

Other students won the chance to tour the Command Center in Shriver Hall on Tuesday and Thursday.

An ongoing mission of Campus Security is to bring more awareness of campus security to the Hopkins population. Moffet said that security has worked to sign people up for the Crime Watch Program this week.

“At least 175 people have registered for the program as of Tuesday, and over 300 people have attended our events so far,” Moffet said.

The crime watch program gives everyone who signs up a card with a number on it, so if one has to call 911, rather than saying your name and giving the police all of your contact information, all you have to do is give your watch number, which saves a significant amount of time.

Additionally, the security team provides resources for students, such as a Hopkins Crime Watch Program and updated security bulletins on the Campus Safety and Security website.

Despite the recent armed robbery at Subway on Friday, Long has not noticed a significant rise in crime.

“Campus Safety and Security has seen no significant increase in crime on and around campus,” Long wrote.

“We are always monitoring and assessing crime trends, making the necessary adjustments to further reduce the opportunities for crime. Campus Safety and Security continues to work closely with the Baltimore Police to reduce crime in the Charles Village area,” Long wrote.