group+two+09s




EduSafe 2424 First Street Philadelphia, PA19103

April 17, 2009

James Flatley University of Delaware Public Safety 413 Academy Street Newark, DE 19716

Dear Mr. Flatley,

It has come to the attention of EduSafe that the University of Delaware voiced concern over the safety of students on the college campus and in the town of Newark. We understand the importance of this issue and believe our firm can do the necessary work and devise a feasible solution for the university.

As one of the leading safety consultation firms in the Tri-State area, we are committed to researching the current situation and working to improve the well-being of the community. We understand the university's concern for the safety of its current students, as well as how campus safety can impact future student's decisions to attend your institution. EduSafe will work with University of Delaware public safety to discover problem areas and create a list of recommendations to minimize these issues.

Enclosed is a statement of the objectives the University of Delaware would want to achieve from investing in this project, as well as a procedure, budget, and schedule to meet your needs. Also included is our record of service. If you believe, as we do, that EduSafe can address your needs please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your interest and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,

Laura Chirico Safety Analyst Lchirico@EduSafe.com

Enclosures


 * Introduction (or proposal) :** EduSafe proposes to review safety related services offered to University Students. Upon completion of this review, a report will be provided detailing the effectiveness of safety issues already in place and suggestions for additional measures, if necessary.


 * Background of the problem:** According to the University of Delaware's public safety statistics, from April 1, 2009 through April 10, 2009 there were over 30 incident reports written by the Department of Public Safety. As recently as this week, a student at the University of Delaware was arrested for burglary of an unlocked apartment which is located off campus. Not only was the perpetrator of the crime a student but the victims were students as well. An unsettling part of this crime is that these victims were asleep in their apartment with the door unlocked. This person tried to break into other apartments as well but did not succeed; those apartments were locked. As part of their commitment to their students, and with the current issues of crime around campus, the University is requesting a review of existing safety procedures and services provided to their students (Crime Statistics, 1).
 * Objectives:** Our intent is to better understand of the importance of personal safety measures to students and their knowledge of available safety services provided by the university. Once this has been completed, it is our intent to provide the University with information to determine whether more services need to be provided to ensure the safety of the students or the current measures need to be utilized more effectively. We also will evaluate the student's awareness of measures they should take to protect themselves and determine if more information is needed in this area as well.


 * Procedure:**

**Observe and study current public safety systems** a. Pedestrian use of electronics or overall awareness The areas that we plan to observe are: These observations will be done on weekdays during the afternoon during class hours. We plan to observe each location for one hour. 
 * i**. Pedestrian Safety
 * ii.** Use and patterns of pedestrian crossings and intersections on and around campus
 * iii.** Observe pedestrian and motorist awareness
 * iv.** Study patterns of crossing at designated areas vs. improvised points of crossing
 * Delaware Avenue crossings between South and North Green
 * Academy Street crossing between Perkins and the Grove
 * The intersection of South College Avenue and Amstel Avenue
 * Improvised crossing area by Smith Overpass
 * Delaware Avenue between the "Quad" and Trabant Student Center

**v.** Night Safety a. Analyze current lighting on campus and public safety presence on campusThe areas we plan to observe are:  c. Reliability of Bus Service after 8pmObserve the routes available and the schedule (change wording) a. Conduct informal survey with students on campus i. We plan to administer the survey to approximately twenty randomly selected people in a common campus area a. Review exsisting safety procedures b. Identify areas of needed improvement i. Will provide recommendations
 * Main Street
 * The Green
 * Laird Campus
 * South Campus
 * vii**. Produce analysis of current safety measures and recommendations for improvement

**Record of Service :**

Since 1979 EduSafe has been the leading authority on campus safety at collegiate towns throughout the United States. Experts in analyzing the unique relationships between the town community at large and the university community, EduSafe prides itself in providing strong solutions that benefit and accommodate all members of college towns. Providing solutions that maximize current resources and minimize added costs is the hallmark of our 30 year tradition.

**Budget:**

//Analysis of Pedestrian Safety// Two one hour sessions of expert pedestrian surveyors 125 per hour x Survey Team (Two Surveyors) //Night Study// Two night surveys 125 per hour 50 per hour overtime 5 hour Survey X Survey team (Two Surveyors) //Polling Research group//
 * Field Study**
 * Pedestrian Safety total= $2500**
 * Night Safety total=$3500**
 * Survey team**
 * Survey total= $9345**
 * Analysis and recommendation**
 * Report total=$15,000**
 * Proposal total= $ 30,345**

**Week of April 27** Observe and evaluate current safety practices: · Pedestrian safety · usage of crossings and intersections · pedestrian and motorist awareness · patterns at crossing points (designated vs. improvised) Night safety security observation and evaluation: · current campus lighting · public safety presence on campus · Bus service reliability after 8 pm Final analysis and presentation to the University of Delaware
 * Schedule:**
 * Week of May 4**
 * Week of May 11**
 * Survey campus students' safety perceptions
 * Analyze survey results
 * Review existing safety procedures
 * Week of May 18**

EduSafe 2424 First Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 May 7, 2009 James Flatley University of Delaware Public Safety 413 Academy Street Newark, DE 19716 Dear Mr. Flatley, Enclosed is the EduSafe safety analysis report for the Unversity of Delaware. The report contains the results of our observations of campus safety as well as the survey results of how safe University of Delaware students feel on campus. Also, included is a compilation of suggestions that EduSafe deems necessary considering our analysis of the university's current situation. In our observations we noted the number and awareness of pedestrians, and their use of crosswalks. Also we examined campus lighting at night, public safety presence, and the reliability of evening buses. This report should prove useful in understanding the safety of University of Delaware students and should help to determine additional safety measures that public safety can implement. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Laura Chirico Safety Analyst LChirico@EduSafe.com Enclosure
 * REPORT**

(The formatting of our title page will need to be changed once we transfer it over to Word but this is the best I could figure out how to do it on the wiki) =University of Delaware Campus Safety Analysis=

Report Distributed May 22, 2009
=**EduSafe**=

Table of Contents
Survey Results**
 * Executive Summary (Abstract)**
 * Introduction**
 * Procedure**
 * Results
 * Conclusions and Recommendations**
 * Work Cited**
 * Appendicies**

Executive Summary
A survey of various locations around campus was taken to determine crosswalk activity and the level of awareness shown by the pedestrians using the provided crossing areas. The areas surveyed were The Green pedestrian crosswalks, The Grove, Amstel Avenue, the area around the South College overpass and the Trabant crossing area. Students were observed in all areas. It was noted that there were times students did not pay attention to crossing signals. They also had mp3 players and cell phones in use, and were observed entering the area without looking to see if motorists were aware of their intention to cross and if the motorist had time to stop. At various times, we also observed students who would walk up beside the side of a car that was already stopped for other pedestrian traffic to cut off a few steps instead of crossing at the correct spot. This is a very dangerous practice. The Grove crossing was the least trafficked area, with pedestrians and motorists being more cautious. Both the Amstel Avenue and South College Avenue areas had a high volumn of foot and motor traffic. Students were observed crossing at improvised locations, sometimes waiting in the middle of the street for cars to pass. Large groups also would not wait for the signal to cross, but would cross when they did not see cars close by. The Trabant crossing area had the largest traffic out of the five areas observed. Students were observed crossing without paying attention to the crossing signals.Here, however, motorists were less forgiving of these pedestrians.

The pedestrian survey concludes that students need to be more aware of their surroundings and basic safety practices. This could be handled using publications already available online at the University website. A mandatory web based safety program, following the format of the University's alcohol training program, could also be implemented.

In addition, observations were made regarding lighting and the presence of public safety around campus. The areas focused on were Main Street, The Green, Laird Campus, South campus between the Green and the Perkins Student Center. Main Street had a large police presence from the City of Newark; public safety officials would be better utilized in other areas around campus. The majority of the area at The Green was well lit. The only issue here was where students chose to take paths between buildings instead of staying on the main pathways. There was a large amount of blue light stations and one goupr of public safety workers in the area. Laird campus was well lit except for the entrance areas facing New London Road, the parking lot at The Towers and North College Avenue between the Ray Street Dormitories and Cleveland Avenue. There was a high police and public safety presence observed outside the freshman dorms and the parking area for the Towers. South Campus is an area that needs improvement in lighting. The area between the Green and the Perkins Student Center was dark and was not visible from either street, although Academy Street had a visible police presence and was consistenly patrolled by police officers from the City of Newark. The back areas of both Russel and Lane dormitories had an inadequate amount of light fixtures.The Russel Parking lot was extremely dark. Our surveyors witnessed only one officer patrolling this area during our observations. We recommend that additional lighting be installed for this area. __MIKES - Any comparable areas you can add here?__

To conduct this study, the Public bus system was used as the main transportation. The bus system was used to determine the adequacy for student usage. Based on these observations, __HELP HERE PLEASE__

The last thing reviewed was the availability of information and services provided by the University. Viewing the Department of Public Safety's web site it became clear that there are many services offered, some of which we were unaware. Public Safety provides such services as emergency telephones outside, public safety escorst after dark. They also provide services such as registering your bicylces and engraving tools for personal property. Although literature is handed out at new student orientations, there are students (and staff alike) that are not aware of some of these services (such as the engraving of your personal property). A simple way to make sure the campus community is made aware of ALL available services would also be to send this out in an email. Electronic notification is a simple, cost effective way to present material.

Introduction
 The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed safety analyis of the University of Delaware's main Newark campus. The goal is to enable University of Delaware personnel to make an informed judgement about future safety precautions to ensure the well-being of all its students. The University of Delaware is considered relatively safe; however, the number of incidents could always be decreased. From the information posted on the public safety website, it seems most of the crime in the Newark area can be classified as alcohol and substance abuse, robbery, and muggings. There is also a significant number of rapes (Crime Statistics 1).

The safety of students strongly reflects on the reputation and ultimately the profitability of the University. A high crime rate may cause potential students to attend other universities or current students to consider transferring out of the University. Without maximum enrollment, the University of Delaware would require additional funding from outside sources.

With appropriate security measures in place, University of Delaware will be able to function efficiently. The institution will remain profitable while also creating a safe learning and living environment for its students.

EduSafe has completed a thorough analysis of campus safety in conjuction with the previously mentioned goals of the University. EduSafe evaluated the safety of pedestrians, night safety, and also student's responses about their perceived safety. Through our analyses, this report details recommendations for a more effective and comprehensive safety program at the University of Delaware.

Procedure
 <span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);"> During the week of April 27th, Edusafe specialists conducted a field study of five areas of heavy pedestrian traffic. The goal of the study was to identify any systematic patterns amongst the five crossings, monitor and record the amount of pedestrian traffic. Field staff also noted any specific patterns that were evident at or near the designated crossing areas. **<span style="font-size: 80%; color: rgb(0,0,0); font-family: Webdings;">Night Safety ** <span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);">During the week of May 4th, Edusafe specialists conducted a field study of three geographic locations of Newark Campus. The goal of the study was to identify any systematic patterns of human activity throughout campus. Field staff also noted security features, such as lighting placement and functionality of existing campus lighting as well as the presence of public safety officers and vehicles.
 * The following locations were observed during the week of April 27th 2009**
 * Delaware Avenue pedestrian crossings between South and North Green **2-3 pm** //April 29th//
 * Academy Street Crossing between Perkins Student Center and “The Grove” **3-4 pm** //April 29th//
 * Pedestrian crossing point between South College Avenue and Amstel Avenue **12-1pm** //May 1st//
 * Improvised crossing throughout South College Avenue **12-1pm** //May 1st//
 * Delaware Avenue pedestrian crossing between “Quad” and Trabant Student Center **3-4pm** //May 1st//
 * The following locations were observed during the week of May 4th 2009**
 * Laird Campus **12-1am** //May 5th//
 * Central Campus including W. Main St. and "The Green" **11pm-12am** //May 5th//
 * South Campus **11pm-12am** //May 9th//

<span style="font-size: 180%; font-family: Impact, Charcoal, sans-serif;">Results
**Pedestrian Safety**
 * The green pedestrian crosswalks were the most frequently used during our observation. Often used by a handful of students at once, while the amount of students crossing at once was not large the crossing was consistently used. Several students were observed entering the cross walk without looking to see if motorists were aware of their intentions to cross. In our observations 1 out of 5 students crossing had a cell phone in hand or ipod. Most motorists were very aware of the crossing and courteous, however 5 cars were observed speeding through the crossing as students approached.


 * The Grove crossing was the least trafficked of the three crossings. On average one to three pedestrians crossed at a time. Both pedestrians and motorist were less confident, many pedestrians waiting to cross until traffic had cleared.\


 * The Amstel Avenue crossing had a large amount of foot traffic, mostly during the changing of classes. During our observations beginning at two thirty in the afternoon the crowd waiting to cross ranged from 15-20 to 5 with the larger group amassing at least five times in our observation. On most occasions the pedestrians waited for the walking signal to cross. However twice during our observation large groups of students crossed during a No Walking sign when they felt the road was clear. During one of such crossings a car was approaching northbound, however it made a slow approach allowing the students to cross.


 * Students form an informal crossing at both the north bound and south bound bus stops under the South College overpass. The overpass receives minimal use from street level pedestrians. The limited use of the cross walk is confined to individuals who enter on the second level from Gore or exit from the Kirkbride building. Students often walk in the middle of oncoming traffic and two groups were observed caught in the middle of the road until oncoming traffic passed.


 * The Trabant crossing had the heaviest traffic of all observed crossings. Because of the fluid travel at the intersection it was not possible to maintain a count of waiting pedestrians on all sides however the western sides of the intersection consistently maintained groups over thirty to forty people. Much like the Amstel crossing some students crossed without attention to the current traffic signal. Unlike the Amstel crossing those who crossed when the walking sign was red often did so by themselves or in groups of two or three. The motorists were less forgiving of pedesterians crossing during a green signal and often did not break or slow their approach.

**Night Safety**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night of our study the majority of foot traffic was located on and around the Main Street area. The population during this time consisted of mainly older college students and most were in route to one of the college area bars. Students tended to walk in smaller groups of 2-4 people. Their was a noticeable police presence due to frequent officers driving through the area, however no public safety officials were present.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Green was another location which we placed focus on due to the amount of dorms and lack of traffic. The majority of the area is well lit except when taking paths which lead in between university buildings. The foot traffic here was very low and most students were walking by themselves. We also noticed the large amount of blue light stations and saw 1 group of 2 public safety workers.


 * Laird campus was generally a well lit area, however some problem area were the entrance areas facing New London Road, the parking lot next to "The Towers", and North College Ave. between the Ray Street Dormitories and Cleveland Ave.. A high police and public safety presence was observed outside the freshman dormitories as well as the large parking area for "The Towers" and George Reid buildings.


 * South campus had large disparities in adequate lighting. The area between the green and Perkins student center was dark and not visible from either academy street or the green. This lack of lighting and visibility provided a strong safety risk to pedestrians on the Grove pathway. Academy St. had visible police presence with a consistent patrol by police officers from the nearby police headquarters. The "Beach" was adequately lit however the back areas of both Russel and Lane dormitories had dysfunctional lighting as well as an inadequate amount of lighting fixtures. The Russel parking lot was extremely dark and not well lit. One officer was witnessed patrolling the area during our observations

>> including two evening routes as well as a "Hen after 10" route. Bus's arrived around their scheduled times, however this sometimes involved a wait at a less safe bus stop area. REVIEW OF EXISTING SAFETY MEASURES
 * To conduct our studies we used the public bus system as our main transportation. During these late hours there was a noticable wait for most bus routes. Some bus routes are changed or limited at later times. Three bus routes were available during the observation hours

There were two areas on the University website that contained basic safety information for students. The first one was located on the Department of Public Safety's Website. There is a downloadable pamphlet called "Safekeeping". The publication is available to to anyone in the campus community who is interested in obtaining a copy. You have to either call or download the publication yourself. Listed in this publication is a lot of information about the Public Safety Department and their services. To ensure that everyone is made aware of these services, we recommend that this publication be sent to all students, and possible staff members, as an email attachment. As this publication is already available, the cost to complete this are minimal. There is also a web page on the public safety web site that provides safety tips. A link to this page can be added in the student email. Additional safety guidelines are available at the website for Residence Life. This is primarily for students living in on-campus housing but could easily be used for students living off campus as well. Students are encouraged to make these simple practices, such as locking your door when you are leaving or sleeping, part of their daily life style.

The Department of Public Safety also provides many services for students. Below is a page from their website which explains their services. (Crime Statistics, 1)

The following is a listing of the crime prevention programs and projects employed by the University of Delaware. > > > > ** Student Survey Results > Survery Results** > > The University of Delaware has implemented certain safety procedures to ensure a safe campus. However, to fully comply with the needs of the university, we have chosen to gather our data from those whom utilize these procedures the most. The goal of our survey is to collect student views of the currently established safety aspects at the University of Delaware. A student survey has been distributed to twenty randomly selected students among the University of Delaware campus to gather this insight. > The graph below represents the results of the survey regarding the crosswalk efficiency in the Green Area on Campus. Of the students surveyed 90% of the students said that the crosswalks were lacking in safety precautions. As previously mentioned the crosswalks are located on Delaware Avenue a high pedestrian and vehicle traveled road. Many of the students surveyed admitted that they have driven and walked down this street. As drivers the sample found the road to be very dangerous, there are no signs or signals to regulate crossings. > ** Survey Results of the Green Crossing ** > Graph > > The survey conducted asked students if the designated crossings at the Green, The Grove, Amstel Ave, South College Bus stops and the Trabant are convenient for their users. Lack of convenience can often cause the use of improvised crossing. We also asked how many students follow the crossing signals. Graph Graph The survey also asked for student ratings of the campus’ late night safety. The two factors that were evaluated consisted of, the reliability of the university’s late night bus services and the overall campus lighting at night.
 * Security Awareness and Crime Prevention Programs**
 * **Escort Program:** The Department of Public Safety provides an [|escort service] to the campus community. This service is staffed by student aides who are employed and trained by the department. This free service is available during hours of darkness seven days a week.
 * **New Student Orientation:** The UD Police Department participates in new student orientation held each summer; meeting new students and their parents and making available to them printed materials dealing with campus safety.
 * **Emergency Telephones:** As previously indicated, exterior emergency telephones linked directly to the Department of Public Safety are located throughout the University's three campuses. (Note: there are over 100 of these located around campus. They are marked with a blue light. You can activate these phones simply by picking up the receiver or pushing a button)
 * **Crime Prevention Presentations:** Crime prevention presentations are made to various campus departments, student groups and organizations such as commuter students, international students, resident student association and other recognized student organizations.
 * **Electronic Alarm Systems:** The campus wide network of intrusion, duress, elevator and fire alarm systems is monitored by the Public Safety Communications Center.
 * **Security Surveys:** Security surveys are conducted for selected campus departments each year.
 * **Valuable Property Identification:** The UD Police provides engraving tools for members of the University community to engrave their personal property. In addition, on campus students may [|register their valuable property] with the Department of Public Safety.
 * **Bicycle Registration:** Students and staff who bring bicycles to the campus are encouraged to [|register their bicycles] with the Department of Public Safety. Registration forms are available at the department or electronically through the public safety web page.
 * **Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) Systems:** [|RAD] is designed to help women learn self-defense. It consists of tactics that help women become more aware of the possible dangers that can develop at any time. It teaches them to be preventive, and to reduce or avoid high-risk situations. RAD classes are conducted through out the school year and there is no charge for this program.
 * **Community Policing Program:** The UD police are committed to providing quality service and protection to the students, staff, faculty and visitors of the University of Delaware. The community Policing Program is an integral part of this quality service. It is based upon the concept that police officers and the campus community as a whole can work together in creative ways to solve problems related to crime prevention. The primary focus of community policing is to foster positive interaction between the police, students and staff. Officers have been assigned to specific campus areas and have designated offices in the residence halls to better serve the security needs of the student population.
 * Students Crossing **
 * Students Who Follow Signals **

Graph Graph
 * Student Rating of Campus Lighting at Night **
 * Bus Route Reliability After 8pm **

Conclusions and Recommendations Based on the observations of our staff, it is apparent that students, and other pedestrians as well, are not as careful regarding their safety as possible. To ensure that students are aware of the services offered by the University, and to ensure that students are aware that they must take some responsibility for their own safety, our recommendation is to create mandatory, web-based safety education training. This training would work much like the mandatory alcohol education training that is in place for incoming freshman students. The Department of Public Safety's Safekeeping publication can be used as a model to create this training program. In order to make the training more interactive, video should be used to demonstrate unsafe versus safe practice. (Safekeeping) In addition, the //Safekeeping// publication is available through the Public Safety website, but needs to be downloaded or requested by students. Our recommendation is to send this safety publication as an email attachment to all current students. As this is an already developed publication, the cost to send this as an email attachment to all students would be minimal. There is also a web page you can view that lists simple safety tips. This page could be added as a link to the email sent out. The Residence Life department also has safety guidelines available on their website for students living in on campus housing. This, too, should be incorporated in the mandatory training program. Again, this would be a cost effective form of communication if sent through email to students choosing to live in the dormitories.

Light fixtures should be added to the following areas:

Mike and Mike - can you help out here? Any comparison areas we can use?

Any recommendations for the bus system?

The University provides many services to students and the campus community. Although it is impossible to ensure that students are using good safety practices in their daily lives, providing this mandatory training can assure you that they have read and understand the importance of these things. Simply locking a door when you are asleep goes a long way in protecting yourself. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME HELP WITH THIS CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH!

Work Cited
//Safekeeping// [|[[http://www.udel.edu/PublicSafety/SafeKeeping.htm]]] //Safety Tips// [] //Safety in Residence Halls// []

Appendicies
Appendix A: Survey