A chat with the Chief

COURTESY // afd.sonoma.edu

What is the first thing you would think of, if you came back to your vehicle after class and found the window smashed, possibly even missing some of your belongings? For most, the first thought that comes to mind is, “Did anyone see what happened, or who did this?.” Oftentimes, when a crime is committed, it is a crime of opportunity, meaning there most likely will not be a witness to help you get to the bottom of the incident. This example is perfect in illustrating the importance of having a good camera system in place, especially when considering the hustle and bustle one finds on a college campus. 

It’s not just about the cameras, though, we learned from University Police Chief Nader Oweis. When considering the safety of our campus, Oweis has a plan to overhaul the SSU system and introduce new forms of physical security, as he calls it, forms that he has already put to the test at his previous campuses. “The issue we are trying to improve upon, first and foremost, [is that] system-wide, the chancellor's office created a policy on cc cameras a while back. It was okay, it allowed for some cameras, but it wasn’t necessarily the most robust policy out there. I’ve been working with other chiefs in the system, and we are trying to get some of that language improved upon,” Oweis said via Zoom interview. 

Our campus does currently have cameras in place, in places one would expect, like the GMC, the Student Center, and the Rec Center. However, the system that Oweis has in mind, one that will mirror the changes he was responsible for at his last campus, UC Santa Cruz, is much more connected. At UC Santa Cruz, under Owies’ leadership, the campus went from 100 cameras to 1200 cameras by the end of Oweis’ time there. “None of this happens overnight. I was there for 10 years, and it took 5-6 years to get the system where I wanted it to be. I see the same [timeline] here at SSU,” Oweis said when asked about the parallels between the systems at UC Santa Cruz and SSU. 

The key to successfully installing cameras on the SSU campus starts with the infrastructure needed to run a system like this, thinking about how it will be powered, as well as preparing for cases where backup power would be necessary, “... Do we have the right cabling, do we have the right storage; [it’s about] all the bits and pieces to ensure if we put cameras up they will work properly and function well,” Oweis said. 

It’s not just cameras that are in Oweis’ vision for a safer SSU, “... We want more physical security systems. That includes access control, like swipe cards, [as well as] upgrading fire alarms, and burglar alarms… a whole physical security program… we are trying to better the physical security program and make it more robust so that there are deterrents…”

Physical security encompasses more than one might assume, with standards for lighting, pathways, signage, and wayfinding through Google. It can even include landscaping, something that was more unexpected to hear. “Physical security also means landscaping [crime prevention through environmental design]… there are certain principles around landscaping that we followed, we trimmed up trees, we purposely didn’t put trees, and we didn’t put certain kinds of landscaping because it would create other problems for us,” said Oweis.

With tangible results shown at previous campuses when adding cameras, it is safe to say that SSU is heading in the right direction considering these additions and updates, “ [At previous campuses], it gave us more visibility, it was a huge deterrent for people who might want to commit a crime… What it really did was it gave us a whole bunch of investigative tools, so that after the fact, we could go back and look at all of those cameras and see if we could capture anything.”

Looking at the big picture, Oweis is not sure exactly what number of cameras will hit the sweet spot at SSU, and says that the infrastructure will come first, and from there, his team will evaluate how many cameras that infrastructure can handle. Most importantly, the addition of cameras will provide peace of mind for everyone that attends, works, visits, or even passes through our campus, “... From a crime prevention perspective, [this system] helped reduce crime, and it made people feel safer,” said Oweis.