{"39632":{"#nid":"39632","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student, Officers Address Campus Crime Concerns","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECivil engineering major Patrick Whaley kicked off a crime prevention awareness meeting, held in the Student Center ballroom the evening of Thursday, Aug. 27. Officers from the Atlanta and Georgia Tech Police Departments addressed a standing room\u0026mdash;only crowd at the hour-long event organized by the Student Government Association.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecounting his own experience as a shooting victim in an armed robbery, Whaley wanted to deliver a message to students: \u0022You are not invincible, and we must band together to be a strong community.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022At first I thought it was a prank,\u0022 Whaley said, referring to the May 4 incident. \u0022I didn\u0027t think anything could touch me. A lot of Georgia Tech students have a false sense of security. No matter how strong you think you are, if you give a 17-year-old a gun, he\u0027s stronger.\u0022 Three suspects have been arrested in the incident, according to the Atlanta Police Department (APD).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhaley called for the campus community to unite and use common sense. \u0022We can\u0027t go walking around at 3 a.m. with full book bags,\u0022 he said. \u0022They [criminals] travel in packs-so should we. If you need to walk across campus, use the Stingerette or call a friend. We can all work together to make this campus as safe as we want it to be.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Police Chief Teresa Crocker and Crime Prevention Officer Ian Mayberry addressed the crowd before answering questions from the audience. Crocker and Mayberry, stating that the major crime on campus is theft, wanted students to know that the department is not oblivious to the more serious crimes around the campus. \u0022Learn from what Patrick said-there are people out there who want to make you their target,\u0022 Crocker said. \u0022A lot of the thefts [at Tech] are from people coming onto the campus.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAPD Sgt. Reginald Moorman, a supervisor with the Zone 5 precinct-in which Tech is situated-provided advice and tips for off-campus students. While stating it was not his intention to spread fear among students concerning crime, he did want them to be aware and acclimate to living in a big city. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We don\u0027t want you to be scared, but we do want you to be aware of your surroundings,\u0022 he said. \u0022If you go outside by yourself [at night], you become a target. Don\u0027t place yourself in harm\u0027s way if you don\u0027t have to [do so].\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArmed robberies on campus are down 43 percent from last year, and are down 20 percent in Zone 5, according to Mayberry. But, he acknowledged that perception equals reality for students. \u0022Crime remains a part of our society,\u0022 he said. \u0022If you choose to be out at 3 a.m. and don\u0027t take advantage of our services, then you become a victim waiting for a perpetrator.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMayberry went on to suggest students with bicycles should invest in U-locks and that people should not leave laptops unattended in the library, in classrooms or in coffee shops. \u0022We [GTPD] do our best to be everywhere in the area, but it\u0027s impossible. A strong community is the best crime deterrent there is,\u0022 Mayberry said, echoing Whaley\u0027s sentiment. He also told students they could sign up for GTPD Crime Alerts and the Georgia Tech Emergency Notification System (GTENS) on the GTPD Web site.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMoorman advised off-campus students to ensure they have adequate lighting around their homes and surrounding areas, and work with neighborhood associations to become involved in crime prevention efforts. \u0022Check with your leasing agents and make sure they are taking the steps so that you are safe,\u0022 he said. \u0022That\u0027s part of their job.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen asked what to do if one becomes a victim of a robbery, Mayberry said students should comply with what is asked. \u0022These people typically want money or items,\u0022 he said. \u0022After an incident, get in contact with the police immediately. The sooner, the better.\u0022 He cited an incident that took place in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, when two women were robbed after leaving a club. After the women called 911, both GTPD and APD officers were able to apprehend a suspect, which was positively identified by the victims. \u0022Get a good description of the suspects-height, weight, facial hair, clothing-anything.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESGA members informed the crowd that the Stingerette Shuttle, which provides individual student rides across campus from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., has expanded its program to include Home Park and Centennial Place. Punch cards offering 10 rides for $40 are sold in the Parking and Transportation Office, located at 828 West Peachtree St. Evening and weekend parking permits also are available at a reduced rate.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Georgia Tech is the greatest place on earth,\u0022 Whaley said. \u0022We need to stand tall and stand united.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Shooting victim Patrick Whaley, along with Georgia Tech and Atlanta Police officers, speaks to a standing room-only crowd concerning crime on and near campus.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Shooting victim, APD and GTPD speak to students about crime"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-08-28 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:25","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"39633":{"id":"39633","type":"image","title":"Tech student and crime victim Patrick Whaley addre","body":null,"created":"1449174110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:21:50","changed":"1475894263","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:43","alt":"Tech student and crime victim Patrick Whaley addre","file":{"fid":"189694","name":"tnr38367.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tnr38367_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tnr38367_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":277919,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tnr38367_2.jpg?itok=yQTB_lMu"}}},"media_ids":["39633"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.parking.gatech.edu\/transportation\/2_stingerette\/index.php","title":"Stingerette Shuttle"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.police.gatech.edu\/crimeinfo\/crimealerts\/","title":"GTPD Crime Alerts"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/emergency\/notification.html","title":"Georgia Tech Emergency Notification System"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.police.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Police Department"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3391","name":"Atlanta Police Department"},{"id":"3392","name":"campus crime prevention"},{"id":"3390","name":"Georgia Tech Police Department"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EIan Mayberry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Police Department\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ian.mayberry@police.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact Ian Mayberry\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ian.mayberry@police.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}