Chancellor Donald J. Reaves
We have had a relatively safe year at Winston-Salem State until just a few weeks ago when there were three separate incidences on campus on the same day. As is our policy and practice, we advised the campus of these activities through our “Crime Alert” emails in an effort to ensure that our students, faculty and staff would be on a higher alert and to possibly gather information concerning the crimes.
Campus Police are continuing to follow the course of each investigation which, at this time, indicates that two of the incidents may be related. Their efforts to secure the evidence necessary to support any arrests are also on-going.
Prior to March 7, we had only issued two Crime Alerts since classes began last August. Because we have zero tolerance for criminal activity, we have made improvements that we believe have increased the safety of our campus. Last fall, we installed gates at several points as a means of controlling access to the campus. We have increased police and security officers patrolling the grounds and we have even improved lighting.
Still, we have recently heard concerns about the level of crime on campus. We cannot, however, deal with what is not reported. If you are or have been a victim of a crime, I urge you to call Campus Police at 750-2900. Also, if you are a witness or have witnessed any type of criminal activity at the university, I urge you to call Campus Police. You, too, certainly have a role to play in campus safety.
While making the campus 100 percent safe for everyone is our goal, I know that is a truly difficult task. We will continue to strive to make improvements, but as long as crime exists in our community there is always the chance it will affect us as well. We need the support of our faculty, staff and students to take some responsibility for their own safety by being smart in their actions, being aware of surroundings and reporting crimes when they happen.
I want you to know that I, along with the senior administration, take any and all criminal activities very seriously. We will be reviewing all procedures to determine what else can be done to continue our efforts to ensure the safety of everyone on campus.
