By: Tirzahsprigela Christopher & Mathilda Bell

Nov. 26, 2019

Students of Bradley University have received a few scares in the past month. It started on Oct. 26, with a report of an armed intruder on W. Fredonia Ave., which resulted in a campus lockdown. Three weeks later, on Nov. 13, a juvenile was arrested as they shot a handgun right outside of campus property. The most recent scare was just six days ago, Nov. 20. Someone left a note in a bathroom of Olin Hall, threatening violence in that building.

Some students believe they have reason to be fearful, and say campus is becoming more dangerous. Bradley University police officers have a different perspective, however.

Chief of the Bradley University Police Department, Brian Joschko, gave his perspective on these issues.

“The statistics actually would show something different,” Joschko said, as he was showing us data on campus crime from 2016 until now.

“I wouldn’t say that necessarily campus is any safer… I’d say it’s probably about the same as where it’s been,” he said.

Joschko reported that the most common crime that occurs in the area are crimes of opportunity. This means unsecured and unattended property that gets stolen.

“Even then,” he said, “it’s few and far between.”

So if campus crime is at a historically average level, why do students feel less safe?

“I would never say that a student doesn’t have a right to feel unsafe,” Joshko said, “But especially once you compare us to other institutions and universities, I think that we bode well. Where we struggle, is oftentimes our perception of crime-related issues…”

He explained that, “All it takes is one or two incidents, and it makes them [students] feel a little unnerved, especially when we don’t have a high volume of it.”

Universities are legally required to notify students when crime occurs, something uncommon to most other residential communities.

Joschko said, “A lot of it is that we tell people when there’s crime, but you’re not used to that. Very few communities out there tell you every single time there’s a robbery. But universities have to do it. It’s federal law. And so I think that ups peoples’ anxiety a little bit. And so you just assume ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve never heard of robberies until I came to college. It must be where I go to school is the problem.’ When the reality is there [are] robberies that happen all the time in all sorts of communities…. Those types of things happen. They just aren’t necessarily newsworthy and so they don’t get picked up in the media, and therefore most people don’t have any idea.”

Joschko doesn’t blame students for feeling wary, however. He reassured us that BUPD works hard to meet student’s concerns and keep them safe.

“In those events when it’s a more serious type of incident, maybe it’s a shots fired, maybe it’s a robbery, maybe it’s something along those lines. At that point then, we [BUPD] make a determination as to whether or not there is some sort of a continuing danger to the campus. And if the answer is yes… then that’s when we make a determination that we need to provide notification out to the campus,” he said.

If no one was arrested for the crime committed, then BUPD would  send out an email to students. Joschko pointed out the difference between this, which he called a safety alert, and what he referred to as an emergency notification.

He said, “The safety alert is for that incident that’s already happened, but there’s still a continuing danger. We didn’t catch the person, so we’re providing information so that you can take appropriate steps to keep yourself safe. On the emergency notification side, that’s Forewarn, we’re providing you with  instruction to take certain steps to keep yourself safe.”

Students received an emergency notification when campus was on lockdown for the armed intruder, and when the threat at Olin Hall was found.

Compared to other universities, Bradley actually compares well in terms of safety resources provided for students. Most universities don’t even have a police department.

Joschko listed the Hilltop Safety Cruiser and walking escorts as tools students can utilize to keep themselves safe. There are also programs BUPD puts on for students, such as self-defense classes, and they offer emergency numbers to call.

In order to stay up-to-date on campus crime, students can read Bradley’s newspaper The Scout, which posts weekly crime reports. Students can also access a daily crime log on Bradley’s website.

Here are some of those resources provided by Bradley University:

• Bradley University Police Department: (309) 677-2000
• Hilltop Safety Cruiser: (309) 677-2800
• Bradley Health Services: (309) 677-2700
• Bradley Counseling After Hours: (309) 677-3200
• Student Support Services: (309) 677-3140
• Bradley University Crime Log: https://www.bradley.edu/offices/other/police/crimelog/
• The Scout: http://www.bradleyscout.com/