SAN DIEGO — With the start of the fall semester, the San Diego State University Police Department (UPD) is ramping up their patrol efforts.
This weekend, the SDSU community will start to see an increased presence of uniformed officers, patrolling areas in and around the College Area neighborhood. According to UPD, this is part of normal measures taken around the start of the school year to ensure the safety of students.
While SDDU is in session, Assistance Police Chief Hank Turner says the College Area gets particularly active on weekend nights, “similar to the Gaslamp or to Pacific Beach, where there’s an influx of people coming in.”
“We just want to make sure we have enough officers to make sure everyone is safe,” Turner added.
Over the next few weeks, UPD will be teaming up with San Diego police to service the College Area during this time of increased patrols.
“(On) Friday and Saturday nights, we put out extra resources, so we can basically kind of saturate the community and have a high visibility presence,” Turner said. “Also if there are any calls for service … whatever is needed, we want to be able to get there in a timely and quick manner.”
Students FOX 5 spoke with on Saturday are appreciative of the additional police presence, easing comforts for some who are still familiarizing themselves with the area.
“It makes me feel good, just (because) I’m from a small town,” one student said. “I want to make sure everything is safe.”
Aside from the increased patrols, UPD is encouraging students and staff on-campus to be proactive about their safety. The department has offered the following tips to help:
- Download the mobile app, SDSU Safe. The app — available on both Apple and Android devices — is designed to quickly connect users to safety information, reporting tools and other campus resources.
- Remember to always dial 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Text to 9-1-1 is also available in San Diego County.
- Make sure your contact information is up to date by visiting urgent.sdsu.edu, so you can receive SDSU Alerts in the event of an emergency.
SDSU kicked off its fall semester on Monday, welcoming nearly 6,500 first-year students to the Aztec community.
According to the university, this year’s freshman class is the largest it has seen in school history.
