In response to demands for safer pedestrian walkways through campus, the University of British Columbia recently announced that they had invested $750,000 in campus safety improvements.
Students arriving for their fall semester should notice the implementation of greater safety measures, such as improved lighting and landscaping, to keep students and faculty safe. UBC homes for sale have thus never been safer or had better access to walkable routes.
Safer Sidewalks
The majority of the money spent was split fairly evenly between providing extra lighting and trimming back growth along paths and walkways. Both of these actions were to improve visibility of both pedestrians and any potential witnesses that can help prevent a crime from occurring.
Clearer lines of sight means less places for unsavory individuals to lurk, as well as meaning less of an opportunity for pedestrians to become lost or disoriented at night. The sight lines also allow for witnesses or police to see a crime occurring, or any other suspicious activity. This capability decreases the potential for crimes to be committed in the first place.
Police Presence on Campus
In addition to the measures taken to improve night visibility, UBC has stepped up its student Safewalk program. The Safewalk program assists students who feel nervous about traveling after dark by allowing them to request a personal police escort that will help them make the journey. Certain shifts will even have the option of using vehicle transport, depending on availability.
Campus police patrols have also stepped up by providing more frequent and numerous security bike patrols, which can survey footpaths and other areas that a car patrol officer couldn't. Bicycle patrols are also able to respond faster to nearby complaints or reported crimes and outpace perpetrators on foot.
Hi-Tech Crime Fighting
UBC has also promised an additional future pledge of $250,000 that will go towards education and awareness-building programs to help build a culture and community that deters crimes from happening in the first place. President of UBC Arvind Gupta has also been investigating the expansion of CCTV cameras, although research on their effectiveness has been largely mixed or inconclusive.
One of the biggest announcements for improving campus safety was the future launching of a mobile phone security app that will help streamline reporting and response to campus-based crimes. Gupta expressed that UBC is interested in “tangible, practical safety improvements,” that can directly improve the lives and sense of well-being for campus residents and students.
A Secure Place to Live
Thanks to all of the efforts taken by UBC and campus police, living at UBC has never been safer or more convenient. Access to safe, well-lit sidewalks also means the opportunity for exercise or adventure for families even into the long hours of the night.
If you are interested in moving you or your family into one of the UBC homes for sale in order to live on one of the most beautiful and secure campuses in North America, contact us so we can help you find the ideal property to suit your needs.
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