Public safety now available through text

MHCC’s Public Safety force has made several changes for this new year, including officers now patrolling by bike, along with on-foot and vehicular patrols.

A campus watch program, established in January 2011, is composed of student workers and volunteers to provide extra security presence on campus. They report any unusual, suspicious or obvious threatening or criminal activities to the Public Safety Department.

The count of the campus watch is now around 12 people, but an exact number could not be disclosed for security reasons.

Starting this month, Public Safety can now be reached via text-message. The number to text public safety differs from calling them on the phone. To call, dial (503) 491-7911; to text, dial (503) 539-5145.

Gale Blessing, director of Institutional Safety and Security, stressed the importance of having these numbers programmed in your phone in case you need to contact Public Safety.

There are plans to add additional security cameras to capture any crimes on video. The locations of these cameras were not disclosed for security reasons.

There are additional part-time Public Safety officers patrolling the campus. When last year’s parking fee was put into place, two additional part-time officers were hired and with this year’s new access fee system two more were hired. Blessing said that there is more comfort now with the added security.

As far as criminal offenses go, last year on campus there were two aggravated assaults, two burglaries, two arsons, and 14 motor thefts, the lowest count in the past three years. The most common crime at MHCC continues to be theft of unaccounted-for items.

For more information about Public Safety, go to MHCC’s website and look for Crime Awareness/Campus Security under Student Services. There, one can find Criminal Trespass orders, the Clery crime logs, crime alerts, crime statistics and the Security Policies Report. The Security Policies Report is updated every year in October, and printed copies are available in the Public Safety Offices.