Associate Director of Campus Safety, Jay LaFayette, explaining the features of the Safer U app. Photo courtesy of Nolan Hyman.

After recent reports of vehicle larcenies, Campus Safety has increased their patrols on the Utica University campus, Associate Director of Campus Safety Jay LaFayette said.

Occurring on or close to campus, parked and unattended motor vehicles have been the targets of these thefts. With “constant” patrols of the parking lots on campus, including Pioneer Village and the Athletic Dome area, Campus Safety would be able to deter them.

The thieves aren’t spending a lot of time breaking into the cars, LaFayette said. Instead, the cars are typically already unlocked for them to enter. 

“You know, they’re quick,” he said. “We’re doing our best out there to keep track of the parking lots, but these thieves are pretty good at how they do it.”

The people committing the vehicle larcenies appear to be between 18 and 25 years old, so it can be difficult identifying those who shouldn’t be on the Utica campus. If a person is unable to present their student ID, they will be asked to leave the campus.

“Not everybody out there is doing something- people do walk their pets through here,” LaFayette said. “But, you know… 3 o’clock in the morning, you know, if [Campus Safety] sees somebody, especially if they’re going car to car, they might just call UPD.”

Campus Safety sent a notice to Utica students, faculty, and staff about ensuring that their car doors are locked while unattended on campus. The email was prompted by a vehicular larceny incident that occurred a few nights prior.

“Two college age people came on the campus. You know, they just showed up in B lot,” he said.  

Campus Safety spotted the pair going car to car on campus. As they did not have student IDs,  they were asked to leave the campus. 

“Luckily in this case, it was thwarted by the diligent patrols out there. So, it’s just, the measures are working,” LaFayette said. “I’ve got a good group of men and women out there that are working nights, working weekends, working holidays to try to keep students safe.”

Not only are the patrols working, but the campus’ technology has also helped to deter criminal behavior. Using the campus’ “robust camera system,” Campus Safety can assist the local police departments. For instance, it can be used to identify individuals needed for investigations conducted by the Utica Police Department. 

“Where we can use cameras, we use cameras. I mean, obviously, they’re a great resource,” LaFayette said. “If we have the technology, we use it.”

In terms of technology, Campus Safety have worked alongside other campus departments to get the word out about their app, Safer U. The app has been around for two years, but they have been promoting it more during this year’s orientation.

“As students come in here, we like to ask them if they have the app. If not, we have QR codes to download the app,” LaFayette said. “So we really wanna get that out there. We really want students to use it, and again it’s got a lot of information there.”

Safer U has various functions; including directories to student services- such as financial aid or SLCE – information about upcoming campus events, a suicide crisis hotline, etc. The app is “ever-evolving”, so if there is a need that it can fulfill for something on campus, it gets updated.

Last week, the app was updated with a “U Will” function, and it is an initiative from the campus’ counseling center. When used, the function connects students to Utica’s counseling services.

“The idea is, you know, it allows you to connect with campus safety or really anybody on the campus,” LaFayette said. 

With the app, students have a direct line to emergency contacts, and they can do “friend walks”- in which, if a student feels uncomfortable walking somewhere on campus, they can send their location to a friend, and that friend can then follow them to their next location. 

Students can also use Safer U to contact Campus Safety through the emergency contacts function. If students see something suspicious, they should contact Campus Safety immediately, LaFayette said.

“One thing I feel is important to say, I mean, is that this doesn’t work without the assistance of the community too,” he said. “If a student’s out there… if they see something suspicious, let us know, because it’s a team effort out there.”