ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Lobos are heading back to class Monday, and safety on campus has been a growing concern for the past few years. Now, new safety measures are being put in place to try and keep students and staff safe.
This is the second year that the dorms at UNM are at full capacity. UNM Police Detective Patricia Young said campus police have started a new program to try and keep students and staff safe. One of the new initiatives is called Campus Watch; it’s modeled after the neighborhood watch.
“We’ve divided the campus into zones and our building coordinators are in charge of those zones and they communicate the safety issues that are going on within that zone,” said Young. Campus Watch also comes with a newsletter that connects all zones and shares important information.
Neauma Garrett’s youngest daughter will live on campus this semester. Garrett said the new initiative eases some of the anxiety she has about leaving her daughter. Especially since the family lives in Toledo, Ohio. “Knowing that they’ve added more security does add that bit of comfort I feel since we’re like out of state,” said Garrett.
The Albuquerque Police Department is also increasing their presence in the area. They’ve created a new substation near the Pit and the Science and Tech Park. “We’ve got APD housed really close to campus and it helps our partnership, it helps communication and it helps our responds in areas around campuses as well,” said Young.
UNM is hosting safety week in September, officers will be on hand to talk to students and staff.
