The

Safe Campus

Proposal
University of New Mexico
Changing lives one campus at a time
10/30/2015

Safe Campus Proposal

Introduction:
The University of New Mexico, founded in 1889, has faced many changes and challenges.
UNM is diverse and constantly evolving, expanding and growing. The trouble with growth
means that there are challenges, setbacks and overall troubles. UNM has a crucial decision to
make about how it will protect the ever growing population of students. As the crime rates in
Albuquerque and around the University continue to rise, the students of this great campus will be
affected. Safety is an absolute priority, therefore something must be done to ensure the safety of
faculty, staff, and students.
The purpose of this proposal is to advocate for a safer UNM campus, by implementing stronger
security measures. Stronger security measures includes increases in the amounts of video
surveillance, crime awareness and security personnel. As these preventive measures are
implemented the campus can expect a decrease in crime which will then increase enrollment and
most importantly increase the happiness and safety of students.
In this proposal, we will first discuss the current crime rates at UNM and around the campus.
Second, we will offer a step by step solution on how increasing video surveillance, crime
awareness and security personnel/training will make in impact. Third, we will review our
qualifications to assist the University of New Mexico with its moves to a safer campus. And
finally, we will go over some of the costs and advantages of our project.

The Current Crime and Lack of Security at University of New Mexico

Before describing our plan, it is important to first highlight some of the factors that have created
the current security issues at the University of New Mexico. There are many reasons why UNM
is finding itself with large amounts of crime on campus.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Crime already existent in Albuquerque

Increases in student population
Lack of awareness
Failed security protocols

The main challenges in Albuquerque are those of the violent nature of some crimes. Violent
crimes are defined in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, as those offenses
which involve force or threat of force. According to the FBI Violent crimes are composed of
four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault.*2 With one hundred reported violent crimes on campus, we are above
the national average for violent crimes. That being said we felt that it would be appropriate to
see how safe students actually feel on campus.

Student Saftey at UNM

2 1

32

Feeling UnSafe

Feeling safe

Undecided

Our Specialist Robert Byatt conducted a quick survey to discover the feelings of safety for
females at UNM campus. He randomly selected a sample of thirty five females. The students
were asked a simple question: Do you feel safe on the UNM campus? They were provided
with three options to answer, no, yes, or Undecided Meaning they feel no different at
campus than they would somewhere else that is in the city. The results of the survey demonstrate
the lack of security, illustrating the fear that many students have, with ninety one percent of the
students feeling unsafe.

The crime troubles faced at UNM is a symptom of the Universitys growth and success. Now, the
challenge faced by UNM is to protect current students, to grow in numbers and to change lives
for the better.
Left unaddressed, however, this lack of security will usher in problems in the near future. Loose
security on university campuses tend to undermine student morale, leading to lower productivity
and enrollment. Another problem is that the campus will become increasingly more dangerous,
leading to wasted students funds, increased incidents of minor to fatal injuries, and increase in
damaged property at the campus. An unsafe campus also presents a bad image to future students,
especially since UNM prides itself on being one of the finest campuses in New Mexico.

Our Plan:
Managing the University of New Mexicos limited security requires a solution that allows the
University to be safe, but does not sacrifice too much of the budget. Therefore, we believe a
successful solution must meet the following objectives.

Foster a safe campus that will be appealing to current and future students.
Work in union with UNM Campus police
Increase video surveillance
Minimize costs to maintain UNM budget

To meet our objectives, Safe Campus proposes to collaborate with the UNM campus Police
to develop a secure campus that allows students to feel protected while attending their
classes.
The primary advantage of a secure campus is that it provides peace of mind to faculty,
students, and parents.
Our plan will be implemented in four major phases. First, we will develop a collaboration
with the Campus police. Second, we will design and apply a campus surveillance network.
Third, we will implement stronger security protocols, with specific plans of action for each

individual. Finally, we will track the success of our program and continue to adjust our
program to fit the specific challenges of the campus.
Step One: Develop a Collaboration with UNM Police
Working in union with the campus police we will start by analyzing all the crime within the
campus. The results of this analysis will allow Safe Campus to implement systematic plans to
fit the specific demands of a university campus.
In this phase, we will develop our systems of security. Working closely with Chief Kevin
McCabe, we will address specific needs within the campus.
First, we will discuss with and analyze crime statistics for our campus
Second, we will work with Chief McCabe on our solutions.
Third, we will meet with all individual police officers to motivate and set expectations within the
campus police department.
Step Two: Design and Apply Campus Surveillance Network.
From the information gained from meeting with Chief McCabe we will assist in creating our
surveillance network.
We will create a personalized system for the campus. Placing cameras on all areas of high crime,
as pictured below.
After applying information provided we will install the required number of security cameras for
each area.
Step Three: Security Protocols
The UNM police department will assign one officer to monitor the surveillance footage. He will
be trained on optimal use of footage and key signs of crime.
This protocol will be to note any suspicious behavior, as he notices crime suspicious behavior he
reports. The police department will be able to send responders to the scene of the crime.
These first responders will monitor the situations and then act if the situations risk level rises.
The responders will then send out an immediate text to Lobo alerts explaining the situation.
Step Four: Tracking Success and making adjustments
Due to the nature of crimes we will constantly reevaluate our systems; looking for errors whether
human or technical.
As we note errors, we will then correct them, thus, creating a more fortified campus.

 Finally we will always monitor ways to eliminate and make our systems more efficient saving
the campus money as well as ourselves.
Qualifications of Safe Campus
At Safe Campus we understand the significance a secure campus and the pivotal moment
this decision will play in the history of the University of New Mexico. We the students of
this University feel that we have a responsibility to our campus. Therefore, as we have
noticed a significant need for security improvement. We must share our thoughts and
concerns. Chief McCabe has been involved with the Albuquerque Police Department for
24 years, where he acted as the Chief of police. His law enforcement background has
been focused in the area of criminal investigations and building partnerships between the
community and law enforcement. In is his own words I look forward to continuing to
work closely with all members of the University in continuing to make UNM a safe and
secure campus,*1 We recognize that our division and decisions are significant, and that
as we act together, we can change this campus!
Our Safe Campus team consists of many highly qualified students and staff members of
the University of New Mexico that are all dedicated to improving the environment we
interact in on a daily basis. This campus is home to many as there are students living here
and others that spend nearly majority of their days here. This is why our most significant
priority is maintaining and improving the well-being and safety of students on our
campus. We accomplish these goals by raising awareness around the campus about the
need for increased security, raising money so our ideas can actually be implemented, and
also by making proposals to other bodies and organizations across the state about these
important problems; as we are now. Safe Campus is led by its President: Trey Thygerson,
Senior Security Specialist: Robert Blatt, and team leader: Julianne Sanchez. Each
member has taken classes at the university which has prepared them with knowledge of
how to instruct and lead large groups.
Each members major benefits our organization whether it be business or criminal law.
We believe every member has something great to offer that they have learned along the
way from their studies at our very own university.

Other members of our organization include specialists from around the state that have
previous experience in leading and executing new security installations and also
volunteers from around the UNM campus. Safe Campus meets weekly in efforts to
discuss current complications regarding campus crime and security, then introduces new
ideas and solutions that, furthermore, become proposals. Safe Campus thoroughly
believes that its efforts and commitments to improve campus security has long-lasting
impacts on this university. We accept the responsibility of creating awareness and
suggesting solutions regarding campus security and we hope that each achievement is
recognized and makes an overall difference for our campus and its students.
The Plans Benefits and Project Costs:
In closing, let us summarize the advantages of our plan and discuss the costs. Our
preliminary research shows that UNM will experience future difficulties if security needs
are not address. The growing population of students, the lack of surveillance, active
personal and awareness is a recipe for disaster. At Safe Campus, we believe the best way
to fulfill UNM security needs is to increase video surveillance, security protocols, and
campus awareness which will allow students to feel comfortable while on campus.
Cost is the most significant advantage of our plan. As shown in figure 1 below,
implementation of our plan would cost an estimated $10,000. We believe this investment
for UNMs infrastructure will preserve the campuss budget, allowing you to continue to
offer the best opportunities for students.

As you can see, our greatest expense would be installing video surveillance. Although
this is the greatest expense, it quite possibly could produce the best results. According to
ProtectUS Security, the three most important benefits of video surveillance are that it
acts as a deterrent to crime, apprehends suspects when crime occurs, and also improves
productivity of [students].*2 The awareness of security cameras on campus will likely
act as a deterrence to future crime violators, which is exactly what our campus needs. The
other large expense will go towards improvement of security training. If our campus were
to initially train security officers with the best technology and with highly qualified
officials, this will surely increase response time, and optimally increase overall trust in
the security team. The other two portions of the money will be used to maintain and track
the success of the security initiations we are proposing to take place and also to pay more
security officers as we plan to increase the personnel as well as the number iof active
members on duty. We believe the benefits of our proposal greatly outweigh the costs and
we list these reasons below:

First, an updated surveillance system will allow your current operations to continue
without disruption. When the security network is ready to go on-line, the students will
begin to notice a difference as will the security team.
Second, student morale will benefit from feeling protected on our campus. With fewer
incidents of crime the campus will be able to expect an increase in enrollment, happier
students, resulting in overall better ratings in all categories.
When the security system is in place, UNM will be positioned for continued growth in
academic excellence, becoming one of the top Universities in not only New Mexico, but
in the world entirely.
Thank you in advance for giving Safe Campus the opportunity to work with you on this
project. We believe the University of New Mexico is on its way to meeting its full
potential as a safe and thriving campus, and with your help, it can be.
Our team leader Julianne Sanchez will contact you on November 14th to discuss this
proposal with you. If you have any suggestions for improving our plan or you would like
further information about our services, please call Robert Byatt, our Senior Security
Specialist or Trey Thygerson, our President at 1-800-123-123. Or you can reach our
organization by email him at safecampus@unm.edu. We look forward to hearing from
you soon.

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2.

"Campus Safety." UNM POLICE ::. Web. 31 Oct. 2015. "3 Important Benefits of Video Surveillance." ProtectUS
Securitys Blog Security Tips News. 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.
Investigation, U. D. (2010, January). Uniform Crime Reports, Violent Crime. Retrieved from FBI.gov:
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime