Student engagement important to safety, Venuti says

VCU Police Chief John Venuti spoke to about 30 VCU community members on Wednesday night about the importance of student involvement in crime prevention. Photo by Zoe Dehmer
VCU Police Chief John Venuti spoke to about 30 VCU community members on Wednesday night about the importance of student involvement in crime prevention. Photo by Zoe Dehmer

Zoë Dehmer
Staff Writer

University officials and police department representatives discussed student perception and involvement in crime prevention during a safety town hall forum on Wednesday night.

Topics ranging from the new VCU RamRide Service, the concealed weapon policy on campus, DUI arrests, and students’ perception of security on campus were discussed by speakers including President Michael Rao, Police Chief John Venuti and director of parking and transportation Rob Maroney.

Rao said he supports the VCU Police Department’s efforts to improve safety around campus.

“I’m trying to put money into hiring professors, but of course, safety comes first,” Rao said. “We can’t be a police state. That’s why we’re having these meetings — this is a balancing act.”

Last July, Rao approved the hiring of 10 additional police officers, a more than 10 percent increase. The force now has 92 officers.

The VCU police have made 148 DUI arrests since Aug. 1, according to assistant chief Chris Preuss, representing a 70 percent increase from last year. Only 8 percent of those arrests were students.

“Safety is everyone’s responsibility and only when 50,000 students, faculty and staff are involved will it be really really hard to come into this area and commit a crime,” Venuti said.

Associate vice provost and dean of students Reuban Rodriguez said that alongside publicizing police statistics, it is primarily students’ responsibility to advocate for a safe community.

“You’re the best ambassadors about how safe or unsafe it is on campus,” he said.

Junior criminal justice major Rita Adomaityte came to the forum because she is worried about safety on and around campus.

“I’m concerned,” she said. “I feel like safety is definitely a problem around here.”

Venuti said that engagement from students is critical to the safety of the community. “We really look at all of the feedback that you give us,” he said. “We make a lot of the enhancements that are recommended,” Venuti said.

Maroney reported that the recently upgraded RamRide service, which escorts students who feel unsafe walking around campus, receives on average 2,200 requests each week. That equals about 3,100 passengers per week. Part of the efficiency of the new system involves a downloadable app available through the parking and transportation website that allows students to call for and track their ride.

Maroney said the average wait time for a ride is now between 10-12 minutes. In addition, the department is in the process of doubling their vehicle fleet to decrease wait time even further.

Venuti said that the VCU Police, because they have jurisdiction over a university campus, have a special opportunity to engage their community in safety activities.

“In municipal policing you don’t have the opportunity to do so much of the messaging that we get to do here, especially with the student demographic,” he said.

Wednesday was the first time sophomore Kim Younger had attended a safety forum.

“It’s a good source of information for people,” she said.

As well as taking questions from students at the meeting, speakers answered questions from students that participated via questions on Twitter and Facebook.

“We know we need to message with students. … We are looking for ways to reach students through social media,” Preuss said.

Police have been working harder than ever this year to engage students in discussions about their safety, using multiple town hall forums and social media campaigns to increase student perceptions of safety on and around campus

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