Due in part to the high number of bike thefts on campus, Pierce College administration plans to install a new surveillance system at the beginning of 2018.
Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher said that administration noticed that there have been a series of thefts on campus, of bikes in particular.
He said it is uncertain whether it is one person or multiple behind the thefts.
To mitigate these and other issues, administration plans to implement surveillance cameras.
Associate Vice President Larry Kraus said cameras will be installed all over campus.
“We have a comprehensive camera surveillance system we’re installing in January, and it’s going to have cameras in a number of areas on the campus in 150 locations,” Kraus said.
Kraus said that implementing a camera system will lessen crimes on campus overall.
“This camera system will help us to not only to stop this behavior, but also to find out who this might be, and track down what’s really going on with these thefts,” Kraus said.
For now, Kraus advises that students who commute to school on bike use a secure lock to keep it from being stolen.
“We encourage them to bring a locking device that really protects the frame and the wheels of the bicycle,” Kraus said. “We have provided state-of-the-art bike racks in a number of the areas around campus. They are located in the North and South Gym and other critical areas around the campus.”
In addition to implementing security cameras, administration encourages students to report any suspicious activity on campus.
Schleicher said students can capture and record situations with their phones and should report it to the campus Sheriff’s deputies immediately.
Schleicher said that sources and witnesses remain confidential when crimes are reported.
Once an item has been stolen or a crime has been committed, students are urged to report it.
Incident reports are made when a crime happens on campus and has been reported to the Sheriff Station, Pierce Sheriff’s Station Team Leader Al Guerrero said.
To report a crime, contact the Sheriff’s Department at 818-710-4311. The blue emergency telephones, located throughout the campus, are activated by pressing the blue button which will dial the Sheriff’s office directly, the Annual Security Report states.
