Sharing crime information

In January, Mark Nordenberg and Jared Cohon, the heads of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon… In January, Mark Nordenberg and Jared Cohon, the heads of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, were named “Pittsburghers of the Year” by Pittsburgh Magazine. Praised for working to make Pittsburgh a competitive city, they were credited with turning the neighboring universities into collaborators.

For as much as Pitt and CMU now share in research and technology, it seems the two have overlooked the possibility of sharing something even more basic – safety information.

A CMU student was attacked and raped last week while walking alone along the track in CMU’s Gesling Stadium at 1 a.m. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Campus Crime Act, CMU police posted crime alerts to advise students of the event and to encourage students to avoid walking alone at night.

Despite Pitt’s location adjoining CMU, no alerts were posted to warn Pitt students about the attack or to advise them to avoid walking alone at night. Subsequently, it’s quite probable that many Pitt students are completely unaware of the event.

The implications of the failure of the Pitt and CMU police forces to share crime information and to alert students about the neighboring university are obvious. Pitt and CMU share a neighborhood. It’s unlikely that someone who attacks CMU students will discriminate against Pitt students when comes to selecting victims. An offender only has to walk a few blocks to reach another set of potential victims: Pitt students.

Furthermore, there’s a large exchange of students between the two campuses. Some exercise the option to take a limited number of classes at the other university. There are also various organizations, which span the two universities, bringing students from one campus to the other.

Additionally, students socialize across the two campuses. Students cross the Panther Hollow Bridge both ways Friday and Saturday nights for parties and events. These are times of particular concern, since students will return to their dorms and apartments at night, thus increasing their likelihood of becoming victims. Additionally, it could just as easily be a Pitt student attacked on CMU’s campus as a CMU student.

The Jeanne Clery Campus Crime Act is a federal law that requires campus police to produce “timely warnings.” Herein lies a practical problem – the law does not require campuses located in close proximity to share information, nor does it require police to alert students about crimes on other local campuses.

It’s clearly in both Pitt and CMU students’ best interests that both campus police forces go beyond what the law requires. Sharing crime information and posting the other’s crime alerts is essential to keeping both campuses safe. Students of both campuses need to know about the neighborhood they inhabit. Women at Pitt need to know if someone is attacking women in Oakland, even if it is up Forbes Avenue a few blocks.

While the universities are busy sharing technology, they should also look out for the best interests of their students and share safety information as well.