TPD addresses crime near campus

TPD working to keep Tallahassee safe for students. Photo courtesy: Fer Gregory

Crime has increased in the Tallahassee area over the past couple of months.

There have been a total of 19 shootings in the past three months, all of which have been in the main areas where college students hang out.

Recent shootings in the area have occurred at many nightclubs, such as Shisha Cafe, Good Vibes Only and Potbelly’s. Each of these shootings resulted in someone being injured.

Theft has also been an issue in the area. There have been stolen cars, stolen firearms and many home burglaries. The shootings and crime that have been happening around the area puts students and the community in danger.

The Tallahassee Police Department is working hard to ensure the students are safe by the end of the night.

Deputy Chief Maurice Holmes explains what TPD has planned to help decrease the number of shootings.

“We do what we call a compstat model of policing where we identify areas where we have elevated crime or criminal activity and we provide resources to those areas,” Deputy Holmes said. “Not only staffing but public safety announcements and also community meetings with community leaders to try to identify probable possible problem people or problematic issues.”

Businesses and organizations should always work hand in hand with the police department when hosting events, especially at night. If there are huge events, TPD would like to avoid overcrowding and surpassing the occupancy level.

“One thing they could do is respect the occupancy level. A lot of our issues revolve around overcrowding, which also presents us with fire hazards and other issues. Those crowds often spill over into the parking lot and we would like for them to have parking lot security to clear out those in the overflow to help us in clearing out those parking lots,” Deputy Holmes said. “That’ll eliminate that potential for violence to happen.”

Many students have been victims of crime here in Tallahassee.

Dealing with being shot and not knowing why someone opened fire could be very hard to cope with. One student, Mahasin Mateen, explains how being a victim of a shooting that had nothing to do with her has changed her views on events here in Tallahassee.

“I don’t think the security that we have are the best trained for their job, some don’t even have a vest to protect themselves if a stray bullet was to encounter them. Though I already suffered from anxiety, it made matters worse. I don’t feel safe in large crowds anymore, so I tend to not go out.” Mateen said.

While the TPD works hard to keep the students and our community safe, they would also like the help of everyone as well. If you see something, report it to local or campus police. You can also help eliminate a large crowd by clearing out.