Because of tragedies at schools throughout the nation the past couple years, campus safety is something that people have started to worry about. Every campus is different, and with that come different experiences and crime rates.

Many students do not know local campus crime reports that accessible to the public. It is important for a student to know how safe their school is and what resources their campus security has to offer. According to the Clery Act, a student has the right to know their campus crime statistics if the school they attend participates in federal financial aid programs. The Contra Costa Community College District has the most recent crime statistics from 2011-2012 archived on its website available to the public. Go to 4cd.edu, click on the Community Relations link on the left and the Campus Crime Awareness Report is under Resources on the right.

According to the campus crime statistics the most frequently committed crime at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg is theft. Lt. Ryan Huddleston is with the LMC Campus Police in Pittsburg and said theft mainly happens in the parking lot. Some people leave their windows down or their doors unlocked and someone walks by and sees something they want inside and takes it.”

In 2011 there were 45 thefts out of 71 total crimes at the LMC campus. In addition, there were 12 auto thefts, one assault, and one robbery.

LMC’s Brentwood campus had only one reported crime which dates back to 2009. Like the Pittsburg campus, the crime was theft.

In comparison, Diablo Valley College had a total of 95 reported crimes in 2009, that number went up to 139 in 2011. The most common crimes at DVC between 2009-2011 were theft, burglary and auto theft. In 2009 the crime count for theft at DVC was 76, that number went up in 2011 to 127 making it the most common crime. There were six reported burglaries at DVC in 2011.

At Contra Costa College there are a variety of crimes reported from 2009 to 2011. In 2009 there were a total of 59 reported crimes, the total went down in 2011 to 55. The most common crimes on campus were theft, auto theft and robbery. In 2009 the campus police reported 11 robberies, in 2011 that number decreased to six.

The San Ramon campus has the lowest amount of crime of all the community college campuses in Contra Costa County. In 2009 all 8 of the reported crimes were theft. In 2010 the campus had no reported crime and in 2011 there were two reported thefts.

Special category arrests were made at all of the community colleges in the district. In 2009 there were 14 reported special category arrests with 11 of them drug related. In 2010 the number of drug arrests went up to 31 and in 2011 it decreased to nine while the weapon related arrests went from two to five. The total number of special category arrests made in 2011 was 16 with drug and weapon-related reports counting the highest.

The campus police department aims to keep students and staff safe. The main campus offers escorts to cars at night if students and staff don’t feel comfortable by themselves.“We make sure that the parking lot is lit and if a light burns out then we make sure it gets replaced. Light actually helps reduce the crime in the parking lot, because most crime occurs at night when it’s dark. If a light does go out or a student feel scomfortable walking across the parking lot to their car we will escort them so they feel safe,” said Huddleston.

If a student needs to contact the campus police they can go to room CC1-132 or call them at 439-2181 ext. 3228. In an emergency you can call 911 anytime from a campus phone or cell phone. The emergency extension for the campus police department is 3333.

Every college in the district also offers victim support resources. LMC has victim assistance forms, domestic violence resources, shelter resources and more. There is also a tip line students can call to report suspicious activity anonymously. The Silent Witness Tip Line can be reached at 685-1230 ext. 1999.

Many thefts occur in the parking lot at LMC because the criminal can see a valuable object in a car that is accessible. You can take measures to stay safe by having a plan; know where the campus police are located and how to contact them in case of an emergency.