The week of Aug. 30, six cars were broken into at the Health Professions Divisions and the Alvin Sherman library parking garages. Thieves broke several of the cars’ windows and stole items including a laptop, clothing, a GPS unit and a backpack.
Shane Lam, assistant director of field operations at the Office of Public Safety, said that the burglaries were crimes of opportunity because the items were visible from outside the cars, making them attractive targets for thieves.
Jose Vaquez, junior biology major said he felt unsafe when he heard about the burglaries.
“I think that NOVALERT isn’t doing their job,” he said. “They need to tighten up on where they place cameras and how frequently they pass around parking garages.”
Shelissa Gomes, junior criminal justice major, agreed.
“Honestly I’ve seen NOVALERT just like in random places but never in areas that need to be supervised like a parking lot,” she said. “They go through once and then what? And I think realistically, there should be patrols there all the time, whether it’s someone stationed there or hourly checks daytime and nighttime around the clock.”
Lam said that crime prevention and security is participatory and that it is not solely the Office of Public Safety’s duty.
“Our primary role is informational and to be a resource,” he said. “We’re actually happy to share this information when we’re asked. That’s what our department is about: educating the NSU community about crime prevention.”
Lam said that there are three aspects to crime prevention at NSU: Public Safety officers trained in patrol techniques; physical security, like gates and video surveillance at parking garages; and students’ participation and crime prevention. The Davie police department also works with NSU Public Safety to secure the campus. Three Davie police officers work fulltime on campus and patrol residence halls around the clock.
Mikaela Myers, sophomore art major, thinks the presence of safety and police officers on campus is adequate.
“Most of the time I walk out of The Commons, and it’s late, there are police cars there,” Myers said. “Even if there is not a problem, sometimes I see multiple police cars.”
According to Lam, being aware of habits that can make students more vulnerable to crime is the key to crime prevention. Students can make themselves less vulnerable to auto burglaries by hiding their valuables in the trunk of their cars, parking in areas with pedestrian traffic, leaving their car windows closed and investing in a car alarm.
“There’s no guarantee against crime,” Lam said. “There is always a chance. You can take these crime prevention measures to make yourself less vulnerable.”
