Some parents of students at the University of California, Berkeley, have hired private security workers to patrol near campus, which the school says should be left to campus police.
The group, called SafeBears, says it represents more than 1,300 parents of students at the university. He said he decided to hire the security guards after several crimes involving students last year, including a carjacking near a fraternity house and another near campus.
The university, which has about 45,000 students, said in a statement that the hiring raised concerns about training and experience and that “university funds are better spent hiring more” campus police officers.
Jonathan Simon, a professor of criminal justice at UC Berkeley, said in a statement that he understood why parents were concerned about safety, but that there was no evidence that the risk at the university was extraordinary.
“I just don’t see how this trick can do anything to significantly change those risks and instead reflects the relative privilege of the parents involved,” he said.
It would be better if the gym remained open 24 hours a day and had well-lit running and jogging paths to give more space for students to stay on campus at night, he added.
Parents have been caught off guard following some high-profile crimes on college campuses. In February, the body of a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student was found in a wooded area on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.
SafeBears — the name is a nod to UC Berkeley’s mascot — spent more than $40,000 to hire the security officers through a contractor. From March 6 to 23, six “safety ambassadors” in bright yellow jackets patrolled areas near the school, but not on campus, from 6:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. The areas were chosen because of recent crime reports, according to parents. .
“I’ve heard from many students who expressed gratitude and relief when they said they saw our security agents patrolling campus,” said Sagar Jethani, the president of SafeBears, whose twin sons are sophomores at the university.
All people hired by SafeBears are subject to criminal background checks, according to a statement from the group.
They also received at least 32 hours of security officer training. They did not carry pepper spray, batons, handcuffs or other “defensive equipment,” the statement said.
