Campus Safety Forum Set for Thursday Night

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 29, 2010) - In the wake of a several robberies on or near campus over the last few weeks, University of Kentucky Police, Student Government (SG) and Student Affairs have organized a Campus Safety Forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in the UK Student Center's Worsham Theater.

UK Vice President for Student Affairs Robert Mock, SG President Ryan M. Smith and UK Police Chief Joe Monroe will take questions and comments from the audience.

While UK Police is making every effort to apprehend the individuals responsible for the robberies in the campus community, the police force also wants to focus on preventing future crimes by educating the campus on effective crime prevention strategies. To that end, Chief Monroe has reassigned another officer to the crime prevention effort.

Following the report of the latest robbery last Thursday, Monroe announced the creation of a task force to address robberies in the campus area. The number of UK officers on patrol of campus is being doubled, and Lexington Police has provided two additional officers to the campus area to assist. UK Police has also gained approval to proceed with a multi-year, comprehensive security proposal to add cameras and other security improvements to campus.

UK Police is working actively with the Student Government to create new ideas to enhance and improve safety on campus. For example, SG is considering the addition of a second SAFECATS golf cart. Until a decision is reached and the purchase is made, the UK Athletics Association is lending a golf cart to the program.

Also, Student Government and other campus leaders have scheduled a Campus Safety Walk with UK Police for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, to identify areas of campus where physical improvements can be made to enhance safety.

Safety is a top priority at the University of Kentucky, said Monroe, and UK Police is committed to working with the campus community to ensure safety for everyone - students, faculty, staff and visitors.