The University of Florida announced that it plans to spend $30 million over the next five years to improve campus safety.
The safety plan will include 1,700 new surveillance cameras that will be installed around campus, along with new lighting, license plate readers at 20 campus entry points and fortified building access controls, said Curtis Reynolds, vice president of business affairs.
About $20 million will go toward a new police building and additional certified police officers as well, reports Gainesville.com.
According to Reynolds, the security cameras will be strategically placed around campus to deter crimes. Greek housing, medical, health science and athletic buildings and walkways are some of the areas that will be seeing new cameras.
New license plate readers can be used as evidence to track down suspects, he said, and 116 building will undergo improved key-card access.
Five new police officers will be added to the 89 officers already on staff. Construction on the new 35,000-square-foot police station should begin next year.
Reynolds said the UF board of trustees hope the facility will maximize public accessibility and police visibility, along with faster police response time to campus-area crimes.
According to a 2018 crime report, of the 400, there were 311 larceny reports. There were seven reported rapes, which was up from five in 2017.
“I’m not aware or prepared to respond to (the statistics),” Reynolds said of the numbers. “We have always desired to have a relatively safe campus, but there’s no way to guarantee no crime at all. These enhancements were proposed to benefit and deter the number of crimes on campus.”
