During the next eight months, University of Houston administrators will spend $4 million to enhance campus security—an effort that will include installing additional exterior lights and expanding the video surveillance system.

“While this is a safe campus, we want to take every possible measure we can to guarantee that safety,” said Dave Irvin, associate vice president of plant operations.

One of those measures, according to Irvin, is adding 50 cameras to the video security system, which currently consists of 180 cameras located across campus. The new cameras put the UH Department of Public Safety (UH DPS) closer to their goal of being able to monitor the entrances and exits of every campus parking lot.

The cameras, which record around the clock, are paying off, said Malcolm Davis, UH executive director for public safety and chief of police, who said the video system has been instrumental in solving several cases.

In November, for example, a camera recorded a man setting fire to an automobile parked at Bayou Oaks and then leaving the scene in a truck. The UH DPS circulated a picture of the truck (taken from the monitors) across campus and to local law enforcement agencies. Texas Southern University police officers spotted the truck in the area, stopped the vehicle and contacted UH DPS. UH police officers responded and questioned the occupants. Information obtained during the questioning led to the arrest of two people.

In another case, the Athletics Department reported the theft of several 20-foot sections of aluminum track, valued at $2,550, from the Tellez Track in October. UH DPS began monitoring the track with the then-new security camera system and less than 24 hours later, two men were observed loading sections of aluminum track onto a cart. UH DPS officers responded and arrested the men, who pled guilty to misdemeanor theft charges. They each were sentenced to 75 days in the Harris County Jail.

“While the video security camera system greatly assists us in our efforts to reduce the opportunity to commit crimes on campus, it does not replace the value and necessity of the campus community in acting as our extra ears and eyes,” Davis said.

UH DPS is taking other steps to improve campus security, he said, including increasing its bike patrol and hiring two new police officers. Davis noted that the initiatives are based upon several recommendations by The Bratton Group LLC, a professional security consulting corporation, hired by UH administrators.

“The Bratton Group felt that the university is extremely safe campus, but the group presented several proposals to make the campus safer and to address some of the concerns our faculty, staff and students have had,” Irvin said.

Another one of the company's suggestions is the creation of an electronic building access system.

“The idea is for people to use their Cougar 1card to access buildings late at night and during the weekends," Irvin said. “We plan to work with faculty and chairs this semester to select a building as a prototype, and see how it works.”

Some of the other improvements include adding 15 to 20 “code blue” phones in parking lots 4A, 8A, 9C and the northern part of campus along Elgin Boulevard and developing landscaping along the perimeter that will not only beautify the campus, but also protect the community, Irvin said.

Additionally, during the spring semester, UH will spend close to $1 million to install new energy efficient light fixtures in various areas, including on Wheeler Street from Scott to Calhoun Road, Lynn Eusan Park, Calhoun Road from University Drive to Bayou Oaks, and near the Fine Arts quadrant, Irvin said.

The new fixtures, which are already in place in such areas as Entrance 1 and the M.D. Anderson Library, provide more than 10 times the amount of light on sidewalks as the existing fixtures, Irvin explained. He said the idea of upgrading the light fixtures stems from Walk in the Dark programs, an annual night tour designed to observe parts of the campus that might lack sufficient lighting or pose safety hazards.

To better maintain light fixtures, UH’s Plant Operations will implement a Student Government Association's suggestion of placing on each pole an identification number and phone number to report outages, Irvin said.

“All these initiatives will help us protect faculty, staff and students, and we will continue to explore ways to enhance campus safety,” Irvin said.

Francine Parker
fparker@central.uh.edu