Property ownership will affect expansion of blue light system

With stories of violence and robberies dotting Central Oakland’s past, it’s no wonder that… With stories of violence and robberies dotting Central Oakland’s past, it’s no wonder that some students feel unsafe while walking the streets – even with the knowledge that police are likely to be patrolling the area.

When sophomore Ryan Very was elected to the Student Government Board last Thursday, he learned that the students supported his plan to take steps towards a safer Central Oakland – roughly the area of lower campus wedged between Fifth Avenue, Schenley Park and the Boulevard of The Allies.

Very’s platform called for the installation of blue light security call boxes – which contact the Pitt Police with the push of a button – throughout Central Oakland.

“We have blue lights all over campus,” Very said, “so there’s no reason that it can’t be extended.”

Chief of police Tim Delaney said that it just isn’t that simple.

“Any enhancement of security is encouraged, it’s a matter of whether or not we can physically perform this task of putting the hard lines down there,” he said.

As of now, Verizon has all emergency call boxes connected to the police department through a hard line – as opposed to a wireless connection – which has to be installed underground. This process can be a major problem if the boxes are being installed off university property.

While Pitt’s campus is covered with emergency call boxes – about 70 in all – no help can be found past Bouquet Gardens apartments, which is as far into Central Oakland as Pitt’s property reaches.

“It’s a logistics issue,” Delaney said.

Despite the potential hardships, Very said that the program is a necessity.

“Currently, the University doesn’t guarantee housing to seniors, so it is essential that the SGB step up and take the responsibility to ensure of the security of students in [Central] Oakland.”

Board member and president-elect Sumter Link said that he is on board with Very’s plan.

“I’m ready to work with him to help this become implemented,” Link said.

Along with his support, Link remains wary of the logistical issue.

“It’s obviously going to take work with the Pitt police and also the city police depending on where we want to put them,” he said. “That might be a little difficult.”

“They work in conjunction all the time,” Very said of the two police departments. “This is just another project where they can use their strong relationship to get this accomplished.”

Very noted that while conventional methods of police enforcement work for smaller issues, the emergency call boxes could help combat the big problems.

“[Delaney] definitely knows that as much as we [do] – we need to crack down on underage drinking and things like public urination. There are real safety issues in South Oakland. Just last week we had that shooting on Parkview,” Very said. “I feel that because safety is such an issue in [Central] Oakland, we need to fry the big fish.”

As for a timeline on implementing the project, Very thinks it will progress in the near future.

“I’m not the kind of candidate to promise a board project and have to run again to get it done,” he said. “I definitely see it getting done in my term.

“We have a right to be safe at our school. I have the utmost respect for the Pitt police and I think that they do a great job and are working hard,” Very said. “My project would just be expanding the scope as to what’s being done to ensure the safety of students in [Central] Oakland.”

In addition to installing call boxes, Very called for increased foot and bike police patrols and creating safety surveys for students.

Very’s running mate, Ryan Haddad will join him on SGB in the new year. Haddad’s platform focused on negotiating with private security companies to bring security systems to Pitt students at a discount.