Annual campus safety report

Reported vehicle theft on the MHCC campus has dropped almost 60 percent over the last two years, thanks in part to efforts of the Public Safety office and Associated Student Government (ASG).

The decrease is noted in the Clery Report for 2012 released to Mt. Hood staff and students on Monday. The federally required annual report details the crime statistics on and around campus for the year ending Dec. 31, and the security policies utilized by MHCC and the Public Safety office.

Wayne Feagle, MHCC’s manager of public safety, summed up the new data: “Our crimes are down this year. Our car theft is down… we work closely with Gresham (police) and getting their special units out here to help out with car thefts.” He continued by saying, “We had 31 in 2010 and that number is down to 11 in 2012.”

MHCC instituted an access fee in 2012 for all students, which enabled the Public Safety Office to hire four more employees who can patrol the parking lots, Feagle said.

Along with new revenue generated by the parking passes briefly required, then dropped in 2011-12, the fee also paid for more security cameras around campus. The focused locations of these cameras were the main parking lots as well as walkways inside the main campus.

“The first-year (improvement) was cameras in the front parking lot and the second year was internally,” said Feagle. “ASG was part of our (safety) committee that decided where the cameras would be.”

Feagle noted the highest rate of vehicle theft occurs with the Honda Civic and Toyota Camry models, especially the older models. He suggests that owners of those models use “The Club” (or similar steering wheel locking device) to deter possible theft.

Mt. Hood also has improved lighting all over campus by keeping the lights on throughout evenings, including the main walkways and parking lots, Feagle said.

The improvements are reflected in the low numbers in the latest Clery report, he said.

“We are a very safe campus. Our crimes are against property, not people, and we are proud of that,” Feagle said. He hopes to continue the downward crime rate trend, he said.

“We always try to get it lower. We try to do the best we can and we try to get people to report suspicious activity,” Feagle said.

To obtain a copy of the report, visit the Public Safety Office in room AC2330, or go to this link for a pdf format: http://www.mhcc.edu/docs/CampusSecurity/CleryReport.pdf.