UWM students and officials take precautions, following reported incidents near campus

Concerns over security and safety may have increased among students, following April’s string of reported armed robberies and attempted sexual assault. But it has always been a top priority at UW-Milwaukee, according to university officials.

“We pay attention to safety and security all year long,” Gregory Habeck, UWM’s interim chief of police, said. “Certainly, more in the beginning and the end of the semesters because we have a lot more students moving around, but we have things in place.”

In April, the UWM Police Department issued campus safety alerts after each of the two armed robberies, an attempted strong armed robbery and attempted sexual assault near campus.  On May 4, another armed robbery took place about a block south of campus.

“We are in an urban environment and there are going to be incidents, but we want to minimize those as much as possible,” Habeck said.

According to Dean of Students Timothy Gordon, UWMPD works with the Milwaukee Police Department regularly to monitor trends around campus, and adds that safety is just as much about education as it is about enforcement. He encourages students to develop safety plans, and to use campus resources such as Be On The Safe Side (BOSS) and S.A.F.E walkers, rather than travel alone.

“One of the things we always remind students to do is to be safe, to be alert, to be aware,” Gordon said. “Safety is a very comprehensive perspective … it’s not just about being concerned about what’s happening today, but how [students can be] proactive in heading those [safety measures] off.”

UWM students like Mollie Sheriden have taken the campus safety reminders and alerts seriously. Sheriden said she has been a little more precautious and observant of her surroundings. She noted campus is doing a good job of keeping students informed and safe. “Even when I’m driving, I see two or three patrol cars,” she added.

Shelly Shwochert, a marketing major at UWM, has also taken note of increased patrol cars. Even though she doesn’t spend a lot of time on campus, she makes sure to notify her friends of her whereabouts.

Yet, other students have expressed frustration in not being able to walk to and from campus without feeling unsafe. The concern goes beyond feeling safe in the late evening hours. Three of the incidents in April occurred during the day. In the early morning hours of April 10, a UWM employee was robbed about four blocks east of campus. On April 20, an attempted armed robbery took place on E. Linnwood Ave. at 1:06 p.m. Nine days later; a student was robbed on N. Cramer St. at 3:40 p.m.

“The best you can do is educate yourself, put in place your safety strategy and plans,” Gordon said.  “The reality is that, regardless of any situation, anywhere in the world, I would say to a student, ‘don’t walk by yourself.’”

Habeck added there are other factors that add to students’ concerns about safety on campus.

“The perception of crime is something that we battle constantly to make people understand that this is a very safe university and the neighborhoods are very safe,” Habeck said.

According to Habeck, there also needs to be important distinctions between what occurs on and off campus because crime on campus is actually low. It’s the surrounding area around campus where most incidents occur, and where UWM has fewer jurisdictions.

“We’ve had zero robberies on campus in 2014. In previous years, the numbers were in the low single digits and those matters were quickly resolved,” he said. “Aggravated assaults, we’ve had one on campus in the three previous years so on campus violent crime or serious crime is low. Property crime has dropped considerably from two years ago.”

The 2014-15 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report reveals that campus services such as the BOSS’s program operation is associated with a 14 percent decrease in crime. In addition, the hybrid duty between UWMPD and the Milwaukee Police Department has been critical to securing campus.

Overall, Gordon reminds students to utilize the resources on campus and to reach out to the Dean of Students Office, among others, with safety concerns.

“We can offer all the programming in the world…but if people don’t take some ownership for their own responsibility and take the initiative, then a lot of this effort is wasted,” Habeck added.

Concerns over security and safety may have increased among students, following April’s string of reported armed robberies and attempted sexual assault. But it has always been a top priority at UWM, according to university officials.

“We pay attention to safety and security all year long,” Gregory Habeck, UWM’s interim chief of police, said. “Certainly, more in the beginning and the end of the semesters because we have a lot more students moving around, but we have things in place.”

In April, the UWM Police Department issued campus safety alerts after each of the two armed robberies, an attempted strong armed robbery and attempted sexual assault near campus.  On May 4, another armed robbery took place about a block south of campus.

“We are in an urban environment and there are going to be incidents, but we want to minimize those as much as possible,” Habeck said.

According to Dean of Students Timothy Gordon, UWMPD works with the Milwaukee Police Department regularly to monitor trends around campus, and adds that safety is just as much about education as it is about enforcement. He encourages students to develop safety plans, and to use campus resources such as Be On The Safe Side (BOSS) and S.A.F.E walkers, rather than travel alone.

“One of the things we always remind students to do is to be safe, to be alert, to be aware,” Gordon said. “Safety is a very comprehensive perspective … it’s not just about being concerned about what’s happening today, but how [students can be] proactive in heading those [safety measures] off.”

UWM students like Mollie Sheriden have taken the campus safety reminders and alerts seriously. Sheriden said she has been a little more precautious and observant of her surroundings. She noted campus is doing a good job of keeping students informed and safe. “Even when I’m driving, I see two or three patrol cars,” she added.

Shelly Shwochert, a marketing major at UWM, has also taken note of increased patrol cars. Even though she does not spend a lot of time on campus, she makes sure to notify her friends of her whereabouts.

Yet, other students have expressed frustration in not being able to walk to and from campus without feeling unsafe. The concern goes beyond feeling safe in the late evening hours. Three of the incidents in April occurred during the day. In the early morning hours of April 10, a UWM employee was robbed about four blocks east of campus. On April 20, an attempted armed robbery took place on E. Linnwood Ave. at 1:06 p.m. Nine days later; a student was robbed on N. Cramer St. at 3:40 p.m.

“The best you can do is educate yourself, put in place your safety strategy and plans,” Gordon said.  “The reality is that, regardless of any situation, anywhere in the world, I would say to a student, ‘don’t walk by yourself.’”

Habeck added there are other factors that add to students’ concerns about safety on campus.

“The perception of crime is something that we battle constantly to make people understand that this is a very safe university and the neighborhoods are very safe,” Habeck said.

According to Habeck, there also needs to be important distinctions between what occurs on and off campus because crime on campus is actually low. It’s the surrounding area around campus where most incidents occur, and where UWM has fewer jurisdictions.

“We’ve had zero robberies on campus in 2014. In previous years, the numbers were in the low single digits and those matters were quickly resolved,” he said. “Aggravated assaults, we’ve had one on campus in the three previous years so on campus violent crime or serious crime is low. Property crime has dropped considerably from two years ago.”

The 2014-15 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report reveals that campus services such as the BOSS’s program operation is associated with a 14 percent decrease in crime. In addition, the hybrid duty between UWMPD and the Milwaukee Police Department has been critical to securing campus.

Overall, Gordon reminds students to utilize the resources on campus and to reach out to the Dean of Students Office, among others, with safety concerns.

“We can offer all the programming in the world…but if people don’t take some ownership for their own responsibility and take the initiative, then a lot of this effort is wasted,” Habeck added.