Public Safety, Syracuse police collaborate to increase safety

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this editorial, the time when the University Area Crime Control Team will go into effect was misstated. The collaboration could go into effect as early as next Thursday. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

To help combat the rise in crime in the university area so far this year, city and university officials have finally partnered together and implemented a plan to increase student safety.

The University Area Crime-Control Team was announced Thursday. After two months of assaults, robberies and stabbings in the area, the response was long overdue.

UACT has not officially started, but it could go into effect as early as next Thursday. Department of Public Safety and Syracuse Police Department officers will patrol the East neighborhood and Marshall Street together. A DPS officer’s task will be to monitor the cameras on campus and communicate with the UACT officers on patrol. This plan will be in place through November. Officials will reconvene and evaluate the effectiveness of the measures at the end of the month before moving forward.

Before this, SPD had tripled its law enforcement in the area. This was not a sustainable solution to the problems in the area, as the issues did not seem to decline.

DPS Chief Tony Callisto continues to say the uptick in crime at the beginning of the semester is not unusual. So this plan between DPS and SPD may be temporary and may be implemented at times of high crime in the area.

But for now, this plan allows officers to work together. It shows planning by both city and university officials. It puts students and the affected areas first. The plan has clear goals and a deadline for evaluating its effectiveness. A well-thought-out response is better late than never. The response shows both departments consider this to be a significant problem that warrants changing protocol and collaboration.