Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,
We hope you’re faring well and staying warm as we make our way through another Chicago winter. Just when we thought we might get away with mild weather this year, January clearly had other plans. As we settle into 2024, we wanted to take a moment to share a progress report about our work to keep you safe.
Throughout the fall quarter, we shared many
updates about campus safety and security improvements – all based on input you provided through town halls, safety summits and general discussions. We invite you to read the following summary of our progress to date in multiple areas related to campus safety, as well as plans for the future:
Criminal Incidents
- Overall, we’re happy to report incidents on the Lincoln Park Campus decreased from September to December. While incidents on the Loop Campus saw some fluctuation, the numbers stayed relatively low.
- Many thanks to the DePaul community for staying aware and leveraging campus resources. The table below provides a summary of the criminal incidents that took place during the fall quarter.
Criminal Incidents Affecting Campus Safety
Campus and Location
| Sept. | Oct.
| Nov.
| Dec.
|
Lincoln Park Building Interiors
| 17
| 17
| 10
| 5
|
Lincoln Park Public Spaces
| 28
| 12
| 2
| 1
|
Loop Building Interiors
| 5
| 9
| 0
| 2
|
Loop Public Spaces
| 1
| 1
| 5
| 0
|
Totals
| 51
| 39
| 17
| 8
|
Public Safety and Chicago Police Department Presence- We increased the number of public safety officers, providing more visible patrols on our campuses.
- We added overnight patrol cars on the Lincoln Park Campus from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- The Chicago Police Department also increased its patrols around the Lincoln Park campus in September and October. Moving forward, if crime activity around our campuses increases, CPD will increase its patrols further.
Safe Transportation
- The Public Safety Escort Service added a van with increased capacity to transport more students.
- We added two Lincoln Park stops to the inter-campus shuttle, which brings students closer to the residence halls and library.
Updated Lighting
- We invested more than $500,000 in lighting infrastructure updates at the Lincoln Park Campus.
- This work includes completing the installation of new overhead lighting in the Sheffield Parking Garage.
- Clifton garage and Quad lighting will be updated by the beginning of spring quarter.
Enhanced Building Security
- In the interest of making sure only our university community members are inside our buildings, DePaul community members are now required to carry their DePaul IDs at all times, and Public Safety officers can request to see identification at any time.
- At the DePaul Center a DePaul ID, or registration as a guest, is required to access university floors above the lobby level.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- We worked closely with our students to establish a student safety advisory board, its membership and charge. The first advisory board meeting will be held on Jan. 29.
- All currently employed Public Safety officers have completed a 1.5-hour online DEI training. In addition, all officers employed as of Dec. 8 completed a 3-hour, in-person DEI training.
- The Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity is developing an online version so that new officers (hired after Dec. 8) can receive the same training as part of their new employee orientation.
- All public safety officers will have access to additional online training via Blue Sky by the end of winter quarter.
- All currently employed public safety officers will be required to attend a second in-person DEI training in summer 2024.
Additional Measures
- Two new Emergency Call Boxes will be installed in Lincoln Park by the end of winter quarter. They will be located at Belden and Sheffield and at the fence line on Halsted near the Holtschneider Performance Center.
- Housing and Residence Life held a series of campus safety events throughout the residence halls during the fall quarter. Students were asked to identify the primary safety issues related to campus living.
- At the conclusion of fall quarter, the directors of Housing and Residence Life and Public Safety completed a security walk through of all residence halls, paying specific attention to safety in the lobbies and at the front desks. The directors were joined by the associate vice president of Campus Life, a senior resident assistant and the executive vice president of the Student Government Association.
- During the winter quarter, Housing and Residence Life will conduct a “Lock Your Door Campaign” and collaborate with Public Safety to establish meet and greets.
Our efforts to enhance safety and security will continue, and we remain committed to exploring ideas, sharing updates and engaging in conversations with university community members along the way. Thank you for your continued input and dedication to keep our university community safe. Take care, DePaul!
Sincerely,
Bob Wachowski
Director, Public Safety
Rich Wiltse
Vice President, Facility Operations
Gene Zdziarski
Vice President, Student Affairs