La Salle University bolsters campus safety in light of recent spike in robberies

La Salle University on Friday announced a new plan to bolster campus security, answering calls from students who demanded action in light of a series of robberies just steps from campus, some involving armed assailants.

The plan includes enhanced security measures such as increased police presence, additional public safety vehicles and evening patrols, safety orientations, and the distribution of prevention items such as alert whistles and motion-sensor lighting.

“Everybody wants the same thing,” said Dawn Soufleris, La Salle’s vice president for student affairs. “We just want our students to be successful, and we want them to be safe.”

Soufleris said the plan is the result of a series of meetings and conversations, including a mid-February town-hall meeting with 300 students, following seven incidents near campus in January.

Soufleris said the university does not have a total cost for the plan yet, but it’s “nothing that we’re not going to be able to afford,” she said.

At the town-hall meeting, some students expressed fears of walking around campus, even in broad daylight. Others complained about a lagging safety text-alert system, a lack of security for students living off campus, and inadequate shuttle and escort services.

>> READ MORE: Spike in robberies near La Salle University has students worried, administrators scrambling

Since Jan. 1, 10 robberies have occurred within 500 feet of the Catholic school campus in the city’s Logan neighborhood, including one on Feb. 23 after the town-hall meeting. In the two years prior, police logged one robbery in the same radius.

There were no injuries during the incidents, nearly all of them involving students who were victimized by armed assailants. To date, no arrests have been made.

The security plan will require students who want to live off campus to complete an extensive safety orientation beginning this fall. They will also be required to meet with the 35th Police District before receiving approval to live off campus.

Philadelphia police will identify and closely monitor off-campus student housing.

The plan also includes ramped-up communications between the campus public safety department and police, including weekly discussions about neighborhood issues and monthly “town watch” meetings with the 35th District.

When Brandon Robbins-Cartagena read about the new plan on Friday morning, the junior social work and education student said he was "pretty disappointed.”

Though he doesn’t want to invalidate the experiences of his peers, he said he’s “never felt unsafe” living at La Salle.

“I walk all over campus at all times of day and night. I work three different jobs. ... I’ve never been threatened or grabbed at, or cursed at, or threatened in any way,” he said.

While Robbins-Cartagena, who is Puerto Rican, agrees with adding cameras and mandatory safety classes, he expressed concern about what an increased presence of police on and around campus could mean for students of color.

Heavy police presence can spark fear for students of color, and anyone who has “ever had a negative experience with a police officer,” he said.