Q&A with Duke's Police Chief on Campus Security

 

Clarence Birkhead is chief of Duke Police

Q: In light of recent increased security, which parking lots are open and which are closed for events being held on campus through the end of the year?

* Employees and visitors:

Visitors are encouraged to park in the new Bryan Center parking deck off Science Drive.

Until further notice, the following parking lot gates will be down at all times: Allen, Campus Drive, Chemistry, 751, Whitford, Circuit, LaSalle, and Levine Science Research Center visitor lot. University students and personnel can access these lots with their DukeCards.

The following parking areas continue to be restricted after 5 p.m. and weekends. These lots include: Card, Fuqua, Law, Public Policy, PGIV, BioSci, Physics, Carr, Pegram, Edens B&C, Blue Zone, and Sports Medicine.

Gated lots will at the Medical Center be in the down position 24 hours a day. The Bryan Research Garage, Sands and Hanes lots will be staffed for evening access from 4 p.m. until 12 midnight. These three gates will be raised when the staff leaves at midnight.

Through December 14, the Allen lot will be attended between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. nightly and between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekends to accommodate visitors who are accustomed to parking in this area. Otherwise, visitors are directed to the parking garage adjacent to the Bryan Center (PG IV).

If you have questions about visitor parking on campus, please call Parking Services at 684-PARK (7275).

* Students:

If you leave your car on campus through the winter break, please move it to one of the Blue Zone lots closest to Towerview Road where there will be increased patrols. All residential students' DukeCards have been activated to open the Blue Zone gates.

* Events:

For events scheduled between now and the first of the year, event planners should contact PTS (Special Events Coordinator, Renee Adkins, at 668-5407 or via a special event parking request online at parking.duke.edu), as soon as possible to make arrangements for parking in other areas.

In the future, event planners hosting events with more than 15 attendees should contact Renee Adkins at least two weeks prior to the event to request arrangements for visitor access to parking lots. Attendants are required at all times when gates are in the upright position.

Friday, December 05, 2003

Duke official discusses additional security measures taken following recent incidents

Q. What special security measures are being taken in light of the recent robberies, and how long will they last?

A. At least through Dec. 13, when classes end, we are taking extra precautions to ensure safety on campus. During the holiday break we will be evaluating, and in some cases implementing, a variety of safety options that we will report to the campus community at the start of the second semester.

* Duke students and employees should carry their identification, in the event a police officer asks for it. The police are not targeting any group. All persons are subject to being stopped and questioned by police. Non-Duke campus visitors are certainly still welcome on campus. They, too, however, should be prepared to explain their purpose for being here.

* Students who are leaving their cars over the break are being asked to move them to the Blue Zone to reduce the possibility of break-ins.

* University parking gates have been lowered at all times, unless attended. In lots where gates were previously raised at 5 p.m., all university students and personnel will be able to access these lots with their Duke cards.

* Two 684-SAFE vans are patrolling the Blue Zone parking lot from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily to offer students who desire transportation a ride to and from their vehicles.

* About 150 non-police employees have volunteered to patrol campus from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. and will be used as needed. They are not making arrests, but can immediately contact Duke police officers by radio or cell phone. They are easily visible in orange vests.

* Duke police presence has been increased in strategic locations around campus, including the Bryan Center, the Blue Zone parking lot and West and East campuses. Police officers are working overtime shifts, so that there is no decrease in normal coverage to accommodate this action.

* The police department has purchased five Segways, mechanized scooters, and will be using them as more officers become trained in their operation.

* We continue to take steps to increase safety awareness on campus. Two e-mails from the Executive Vice President have gone out to all Duke students and employees, alerting them to the recent robberies. Police officials are also communicating with campus and local media to keep people informed.

* We have leads on potential suspects for the Bryan Center robbery that occurred Nov. 30 but not enough information to make an arrest at this time. We continue to ask people with information to contact Lt. David Trimmer at 684-4713 .

 

 

 

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