Free Custom «Criminal Activities» Essay Paper

Introduction

Background

Recently, criminal activities have been on the rise in University of Illinois campus in Urbana and Champaign. Consequently, the campus has taken drastic measure to combat the situation by installing security gadgets such as blue emergency phones. This enables students to feel secure when they are within the campus vicinity especially when they are in their lecture rooms. However, the security tends to be wanting after 12 Am in the night as a result of reduction in the number of phones. Basically, these phones are connected to police officers and thus it is easier for the m to identify the location where call has been made.

Purpose

The main aim of this report is to propose the effective ways of enhancing security around the campus in order to control crime rates to a manageable level. Generally, the report put emphasis on installing enough blue emergency phones in various places of the campus.

Scope

Generally, this paper analyses intensely the various aspect of security of campus students in terms of their safety, past dangerous situation and ways through which such a situation could have been prevented. Basically, the report focuses on gathering the various suggestions and comments from campus students in order to come up with better ways of improving their safety. Moreover, the study would examine the various features of blue emergency phones and try to explain how campus security can be enhanced by increasing the number of phones around the campus.

 

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Study of Emergency Phones

History and background information

Initially, the blue emergence phones were known as Code blue which were established in 1989 by University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) in a certain project. Generally, CCTV was commonly used as security devices for a long time. However, as a result of technological advancement, various industries including communication and security to converge their operations leading to the invention of emergency phone which have contributed significantly toward integrating Interactive Voice Communications systems with the security systems. In the recent world, Emergency phones have been used as security gadgets in most places in the world including US and Canada.

 Research methodology

The research evaluated the crime rate patterns over the years around the vicinity of University of Illinois including the major spots associated with criminal activities. The research also assessed the effectiveness and the role played by the phones in preventing criminal activities. Besides, the study also interviewed the students to determine their opinions regarding what they think should be improved on the phones to make them feel safer.

Survey

Public safety interview

A public safety interview on how emergency phones were useful in the past including the frequency of their usage was carried out.

Questionnaires

The study also used a questionnaire to collect data from the students. 13-question questionnaires were created and given to students randomly using either email or facebook. Basically, 11 questions were to be answered with either Yes/No, but two questions allowed the students to be at liberty to choose their own answers. A sample of 63 students was selected and their responses analyzed

Locations of phones at UIUC

The total number of emergency phones in the campus were found to be 87 (U of I phone locations). Out of this number, only 9 phones are located within Kirby to the university as well as within sixth to Oak.

Functions and costs

Basically, the emergency phones operate by pressing the red emergency or the call key. This would cause the blue strobe light to light and automatically reach the police. The phones are operational 24/7(U of I ePhone Locations). According to Mr. Brigg, the police officers take less than three minutes to answer the call from the emergency phone and take action immediately. According to Briggs, the estimated cost for emergency phone is $2500 for acquiring the phones and $1000 for installing the phones. However, the installation cost varies according to distance and can increase to about $5000 in case of long distances. Besides, each phone line has a monthly charge of $32 whether they have been used or not.

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Results

 Student experiences

The study found out that 7.9% of students have been a victim of theft in campus. 68.3% of the students at least knew another person who had been a victim before. Also, 14.3 % of students have experiences assault before, while 33.3 % at least knew of another person assault experience. Victims of sexual assault were found to be 31.7 %

Student behavior and tendencies

The study found out that 81% of students walked without company at night. 42.9% of students in danger contacted their friends, 31.7% contacted the police with only 25.4 % calling their parents.

Awareness of Blue Emergency Telephones system

The research found out that 75.5% of students were unaware of the phones.  Besides, only 41.3 % of student felt that the campus safety workshop could be of importance to them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study examined the current level of safety in University of Illinois in order to determine the kind of improvements to be made. The research also analyzed how the emergence phones work, where they are located, how they have been useful in the past, and the cost they incur to set. The study found out that many students have been vulnerable to crime, implying that the security system needs to be improved. Besides, quite a number of students are unaware of the blue emergency phones. This would necessitate an awareness campaign in the campus to inform students about the phones and how they could be important in times of emergency and as well as life-saving.