Thousands of new students are moving into Bloomington this week, which means thousands of possible new victims, warned Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams.
“We just had 47,000 new victims walk into town,” Kellams said.
Kellams stressed the importance of educating incoming and returning students on how to best protect themselves from theft and other crimes. He added that BPD uses a two-pronged approach involving education and safety.
In the past, many students have not realized that Bloomington has these problems with crime, which is why education is important, Kellams said. One major campaign BPD has used is called “Lock it or Lose it.”
This campaign aims to remind people that they can reduce crime dramatically just by locking their doors and vehicles.
According to statistics compiled by BPD, in 2015, 45.5 percent of all vehicle thefts happened to unlocked vehicles, while 29.2 percent of burglaries happened to unlocked residences.
After many years of witnessing the move-in process, BPD has a game plan for dealing with the problems that arise and making sure the process goes well for students and residents.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Kellams said.
Kellam explained BPD will put out extra patrols in high-incident areas and cooperate with the IU Police Department in response to calls and problems ranging from thefts and burglaries to traffic issues caused by move-in vehicles.
IUPD Lt. Craig Munroe also mentioned the two departments will place officers from BPD and IUPD together on joint patrols because of how well the two departments work together.
“We understand how each other work,” Munroe said. “It’s a good relationship.”
Letting students know the police are there to help the students during move-in and all year is an important job, Munroe and Kellams said.
On another front, BPD is working to reach out to the community, in particular to the students of IU, minorities and other young people.
BPD has several community outreach events planned for that purpose, including Crossfit with a Cop on Sept. 3, and they will have a table at the PRIDE Summerfest Aug. 27 as a way to reach out to the LGBT community.
Crossfit with a Cop, which will be held at Hoosier Crossfit, and is aimed to draw out young people and give officers an opportunity to connect with students in an informal atmosphere.
The officers have started to make the rounds by getting out into the community and combating the us-versus-them mentality.
“We’re really not an adversary to the students,” Kellams said.
For the past week, BPD has been on campus helping international students adjust to the community and educating them on the possible dangers of the town.
Some of these students come from cities and countries where the authorities are not always there for the community. Kellams explained that is exactly why BPD has a place in the student community.
“We’re here for you,” Kellams said.
