NEWS
3
CRIME ON CAMPUS INCREASES
CAMPUS SAFETY AIMS TO KEEP CCC A BETTER PLACE WITH UPGRADES
BY JEANETTE WRIGHT
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
Campus Safety is big at Clackamas
Community College, and efforts to make
the campuses safer bring changes in the
department. New radios for communication
and a new manager are just some of the
changes in the safety department this term.
Several car battery thefts occurred earlier
this year, where cars with partially rolled-
down windows were targeted. Campus
Security worked with the Oregon City Police
Department to identify the perpetrator, who
was later apprehended. Crimes like this are
not common at CCC, but the 2017 crime
statistics show a leap in recorded crimes on
the Oregon City campus, increasing from 2
arrests in 2015 to 5 arrests in 2016. These
arrests were made for drug abuse violations
alone. There were also two reported hate
crimes in 2016.
The rise in drug abuse on campus has
been reportedly consistent through 2017 as
well, and doesn’t surprise the team. That
behavior is difficult to predict, especially
with the bus mall on campus. It’s not unusual
for statistics to jump one year, then go back
down the next, and there can be one incident
that completely throws off the statistics from
the pievious year.
“ This place is really
about transforming lives,
and the staff is really
commlted to that.”
-P h illip Zerzan
The team tracks the reports on a regular
basis, looking for patterns to predict
behaviors, but so far haven’t been able to
pin down any hot spots or consistent problem
areas. While there aren’t certain places on
campus to avoid, the safety team actively
patrols the campus core and parking lots.
As Campus Security patrols, they focus on
being visible, both to be available and to
deter crime.
Clackamas Print
“I think the biggest thing is for [students]
to know how to get ahold of us,” said Interim
Safety Manager Peter Kandratieff.
“This place is really about transforming
lives, and the staff is really committed to
that,” said Campus Safety Director Phillip
Zerzan.
A new face in the Security Department,
Zerzan joined CCC staff in August 2017.
Zerzan was the chief public safety officer
at Portland State University for six years
before retiring, and served in the Oregon
State police force for 30 years prior to that.
Zerzan attended CCC as a student and is
happy to be back.
Campus Safety has also been working
on building their emergency response team
efforts on campus. Staff and faculty, are
all trained on how to properly record an
incident. But probably the biggest change
to come to the team is new radios. The
entire emergency team will be equipped
with radios and will have direct contact with
security staff and an emergency channel.
That amounts to approximately 40-45 people
with radio contact on campus.
Campus Safety works closely with the
student government to provide on-campus
outreach and resources to students. The
CCC Associated Student Government helps
to provide the security team with more eyes
and ears on campus, and new ideas on how
to make the campus safer.
ASG is playing a role in bringing new
ideas for a safer campus. One idea ASG
had was a “safety walk” with the safety
team across campus. This protocol has been
practiced by other universities, including
PSU and Oregon State University. The walk
will take place on the Oregon City campus
after dark on Nov. 1.
The main reason for the safety walk will
be to look for areas of concern on campus,
and to bring up ideas for improvement.
“This is a pretty safe place, and we want
to keep it this way,” said Zerzan. Campus
Safety plans to make the walks regular, to
continue looking for ways to improve the
safety measures in use and think of new
ways to make a safer community.
“Campus Safety is supposed to be
collaborative with students,” said Zerzan.
Even as staff and faculty become better
equipped to deal with emergencies, it’s
no less important for students to know
how to report incidents themselves. The
Campus Safety contact information can be
found on the CCC website, and the safety
office is always open. In-person reports
are encouraged, but even anonymous tips
are helpful.
“If nobody tells us anything, how do
we know w hat’s even happened?” said
Safety Officer Timothy Cato. “It’s about
keeping everyone safe.” A great deal of
crime prevention is about the early warning
signs. If you notice an incident, students are
th e c la c k a m a s p rin t.n e t
advised to report it to the Campus Safety
Office in McLoughlin Hall. *Even if we
were to receive an anonymous report of an
occurrence, it still gives us info, and allows
us to do some sort of effort,” said Cato.
“[Students] need to be mindful of their
surroundings and report any suspicious
activity,” said Kandratieff.
More inform ation about reporting
procedures is available in the 2017 Annual
Release of Crime Statistics on the CCC
website. Posters about safety are posted
around campus, and emergency guides are
present in every classroom.
graphic by Sam Weston
2016 CRIME STATS
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November 1, 2017