SANTA ANA : College District OKs $350,000 for Security

Responding to an urgent call for improved campus security, the Rancho Santiago Community College District board has decided to spend $350,000 to add lighting, emergency phones and more security measures in parking areas.

Under the plan approved this week, the district will install emergency phones at its Santa Ana and Orange campuses and at the Centennial Education Center in Santa Ana, as well as place new vehicle gates to close off the Santa Ana college campus parking lot after hours. Other additions include improved officer training and two 12-foot observation platforms in the parking lot of the Santa Ana campus.

The board’s unanimous decision follows a January report to the board from Director of Security and Safety John Johnson that showed sharp increases in thefts and burglaries districtwide. Statistics showed that burglaries in buildings in the past six months of 1991 jumped 71% from a similar period in 1990, while vehicle thefts increased 31%.

When the report was issued, Johnson called for an immediate 50% increase in the annual budget for campus security, and also recommended that the district spend $570,000 over the next three years for a list of safety improvements, many of which were approved Monday.

Johnson’s report stated that although the number of violent crimes, such as assault and rape, have been “negligible,” the rise in property crime could foreshadow an increase in violent attacks.

Trustee John M. Raya said that answering the call for additional security was important for students’ peace of mind. “Educating people is our prime business, but you need to have the right atmosphere to do that,” he said.