News Release

 
February 18, 2005

Dear Students:

As I promised in my message last week, we will be providing you with regular updates on the implementation of President Brody's security action plan for the Homewood campus, which is available online at www.jhu.edu/news/home05/jan05/trinh9.html.

This is the second such update.

Patrols by off-duty Baltimore police have begun. Two or three officers are assigned to each evening and overnight shift. They are patrolling along Charles Street and in Charles Village, both on foot and in cars.

Broadway Services Inc. Silver Star Security guards are now on foot patrol along Charles Street and Lovegrove Street (the alley between Charles and St. Paul), from the Homewood Apartments north to 34th Street. These guards are on duty from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. There are presently two BSI guards assigned to each shift. Soon, that will increase to four per shift. These guards will soon be on bicycle patrol to maximize the area they can cover. A BSI guard remains in front of the Charles Apartments evenings and overnights.

BSI guards have taken over operation of the security desk at the Homewood Apartments.

At the Bradford, a BSI guard is now on duty 24/7. A new intercom system has been installed that requires a guest to talk to his or her host and be buzzed in before entering. Very shortly, that intercom system will be paired with a video camera that will allow residents to use their computers to see the entry door and positively identify their guests before buzzing them in.

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., the university's partner in the Charles Commons project, has added lighting to properties it owns in the 3200 block of St. Paul Street. This new lighting greatly improves nighttime visibility between 32nd and 33rd streets.

President Brody has sent letters to property owners along the Charles and St. Paul street corridors, asking for their cooperation in installing new lighting where we have identified the need. We will be following up with the owners.

In another effort to maximize nighttime visibility, the university is working with area neighborhoods on a "Light Up The Night" program, encouraging homeowners to keep their porch lights on. The university is contributing 2,500 energy-efficient, long-life bulbs for free distribution within the 100 blocks of the Charles Village Community Benefits District. The district and the Abell, Charles Village, Harwood and Old Goucher neighborhood associations all are part of the project.

Student, faculty and staff volunteers are needed to help distribute and install the "Light Up the Night" bulbs. For information, including volunteer times and locations, contact Stacy Cofield in the Office of Community Affairs at 443-287-9900, or send a message to Commty_Rels@jhu.edu, typing "Light bulb volunteer" in the subject line.

Designs for enhanced access control in the AMRs and Wolman and McCoy halls are being refined by architects. The necessary equipment has been ordered for McCoy and Wolman.

New hardware for the 32 existing blue light emergency telephones will be installed by Feb. 28, correcting the phones' reliability problem. We also have ordered six more telephones for additional installations and are doing an assessment, with input received from students and administrators, to determine where they might be most effectively located.

Sincerely,
Paula Burger
Dean of Undergraduate Education