September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month
From Public Safety and Parking Services
September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Public Safety welcomes all UST students and community members back to campus and wishes everyone a safe and successful school year. Please take a moment to review the following tips to help keep you safe and secure.
On- and off-campus housing
Always lock your door when you leave and when you are inside and not paying attention to your door (sleeping, in the shower, etc.). It only takes eight seconds for a thief to walk in and take valuable items from your space. Make arrangements with your roommates to make sure that they also lock the door.
Especially in off-campus housing, keep all of your doors and windows locked. Many break-ins are crimes of opportunity where the victim could have taken precautions that would have deterred the criminals.
Also remember:
- Report needed repairs immediately to your landlord for damaged or malfunctioning locks, doors or windows.
- Reinforce doors with deadbolt locks.
- Reinforce sliding doors or windows with wooden or metal rods placed in the slide track.
- Do not open doors for strangers.
- If you see suspicious people at your door or on your property, contact the police immediately. If you live in a residence hall and see suspicious people, contact Public Safety.
Public areas
Don't walk away from your backpack or laptop computer in a public area, ever. Even if it looks like no one is around you in the library, it only takes a few seconds for a thief to grab your stuff and walk away with it. If you have to get up, take your things with you or leave them with a trusted friend who won’t leave until you return.
When using the gym, do not leave your clothes in an unsecured area (such as the hallway outside the room where you’re working out). Purchase or rent a lock and locker and use it, or bring your bag with you into the gym. Never leave valuables behind, even in a locked locker.
Bikes
Be sure to properly lock your bike whenever you park it. Use a sturdy lock, preferably a hardened case U-lock because they are much more difficult to cut through than chain or cable locks. Lock the frame to a secure rack and also lock any wheels or other parts that come off with quick-release devices. Thieves may take a wheel from one bike and the frame of another if they are improperly secured, leaving the owners with only parts of their bikes but the thief with a complete bike.
When on campus, only park bikes in designated bike-rack areas and lock them to racks. Public Safety may impound a bicycle parked in an unauthorized spot. Since June 2008, 17 bicycles have been reported stolen from campus property. In all cases, the owner either did not lock the bike or the thief cut through an insufficient lock.
