By A new bicycle U-lock program and electronic locks are some of the tools the University Police Department and Beach Building Services will use to keep campus safe this fall. Long Beach State’s UPD is also addressing car break-ins, theft and personal safety as the semester begins.
The U-lock program on campus is completely free and provides students who register their bicycles with the UPD a free lock. The locks are provided on a first come, first serve basis.
Natassaja Dolgorouky, the community engagement officer for the UPD, said students applying for the program need the bicycle’s serial number, make, model and color. Interested students can apply for the program online. There are over 1,000 locks available for students.
Students who register their bike on move-in day will receive their locks on Aug. 18 through Aug. 19. This will mark the beginning of the giveaway. After move-in day, students who register their bicycles can pick up locks from the UPD or the Housing Office.
“Our goal is to get every student to register their bike so that if it [a student’s bicycle] is located in somebody else’s hands that don’t belong to them, then we will be able to safely return the bike to the student,” Dolgorouky said.
Bicycles, tricycles, unicycles and class one, two and three electronic bikes qualify for the program. Motor bicycles do not count towards the program and are considered vehicles on campus.
Law enforcement on campus is addressing car break-ins and theft by increasing patrols in the areas that have a higher concentration of these types of incidents. These foot patrols are called patrol checks, which will be conducted by UPD officers and Community Service Officers.
CSO’s are student workers who wear light blue uniforms and will perform patrol checks assigned to them during their down time hours. CSO’s have a direct line to the UPD dispatch and can report situations they encounter.
Dolgorouky said there are some basic tips for keeping personal items and student cars safe while parked on campus:
- Students should lock all car doors and roll up the windows.
- Valuable items shouldn’t be left in plain view.
- Valuable items should be stashed in trunks for safe keeping.
- If students aren’t able to stash items in a trunk, items should be shielded from view.
- Cars should never be left unattended while running.
The 2019-2021 Clery Annual Security Report for CSULB stated motor vehicle thefts have gone down since 2019. In 2019, there were 13 motor vehicle thefts on campus, while 2020 had nine thefts. There were two on-campus thefts and two non-campus thefts in 2021. Additional information on various other crimes and definitions can found in the report posted as a PDF on the UPD main page.
Beach Building Services is working with colleges on campus to install electronic locks on outside entrances. Josh Cichuniec, facilities management director at BBS, said this type of lock typically addresses access control at various colleges on campus. The new locks are part of over 300 electronic locks throughout campus and have also shown up at student dormitories.
“This lock will allow college-approved users to access the building after normal business hours while maintaining building security,” Cichuniec said.
He said the College of the Arts and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics are getting exterior locks. The College of Health and Human Services is receiving interior electronic locks.
“The installation is just about complete on the exterior applications. BBS funded the CNSM installation. The other exterior location was co-funded by BBS and COTA,” Cichuniec said.
UPD provides additional safety training and programs throughout CSULB’s campus. Dolgorouky said departments, students and organizations can ask for Active Shooter Preparedness training, which is typically done in group settings. This type of training is conducted by an officer, the Emergency Preparedness manager and the Community Engagement officer.
The UPD also provides a Safety Walk-Through on campus. Dolgorouky said the walk-through consists of both an EPM and CEO going through an area on campus and checking spaces for places of safety and best exits for emergencies. This includes ensuring that doors actually lock and places to hide. She said the EOC is in charge of this type of training and it isn’t part of the UPD’s purview.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the UPD had large training sessions for active shooter situations. These included the Long Beach Police Department and were led by the UPD on campus. COVID-19 changed these trainings, but the department is due for one. Dolgorouky said there are some things students should consider during an active shooter situation:
- Student safety is paramount. Get to safety.
- Text 911 to contact the dispatch center to seek help.
- Students don’t need to stay on campus. Students near transport should remove themselves from the area.
- BeachALERTS, the campus-wide emergency notification system, gives information on situations on campus. Messages will become more specific with each one sent out.
- Spouses, partners, friends and family can subscribe to BeachALERTS.
- BeachALERTS automatically enrolls all current students, faculty and staff.
There are additional personal protection training and tools students can make use of at CSULB. For example, new students might not know about the Rape Aggression Defense program. The RAD program is a 12 hour hands-on course that is led by the UPD. This program costs $10 dollars for students, faculty, staff and alumni. For more information on the RAD program students can check the UPD website. The first class is on Oct. 17.
“I would highly recommend that [RAD program] for any currently enrolled students or faculty, but public is allowed to take those classes too. I took the class and it’s great and I highly recommend it,” Dolgorouky said.
CSULB also has about 300 emergency blue phones throughout campus. These phones are connected directly to the dispatch at the UPD. Safety escorts are provided any time day or night and students can ask for CSO escorts if they feel unsafe on campus.
“[Students] would call the dispatch non-emergency line which is 562-985-4101 and request a safety escort. All they’re going to have to provide is their name and student ID number and their location,” Dolgorouky said.
The service is an on-campus service. There is no off-campus escort. When a CSO is unavailable, a police officer will be sent to the student in need.
The CSULB campus also has more than 100 security cameras located around the grounds.
“Security cameras on campus can be monitored by dispatchers, police officers, and investigators,” Lieutenant Johnny Leyva said.
