WORKSHEET 3: Popular Literature and Primary Sources (copy to be handed in, see working copy below)
 

Ian Smalley, Jonathan Winters, Lauren Burgoon, Jacob Landis, Francesca Tripodi and Lewis Levenberg. (CCTP-505-006) 

What communication context are you investigating? 

 

We are investigating emails and other communication media as alert systems for residents to crime in Georgetown University’s campus and neighborhood. We are interested in the effects these alert systems have on residents’ awareness and perception of the rate of crime in the areas. 

 

What does the popular literature say?  

 

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires campuses to notify their students about crimes on campus. As a response, campuses across the nation are implementing new media alert systems with increasing frequency to notify students of crimes and emergencies. New media cannot prevent disasters or crimes, but can dramatically increase the rate of response to those events by facilitating community awareness. The two technologies currently in widespread use are e-mail and text-message alert systems, with text-messaging possibly supplanting e-mail in the near future.

Some schools, such as Purdue University, have hesitated to initiate a text-message alert system because of the cost, and because of questions about whether text-messaging or e-mailing students is more effective. Students also have been hesitant to sign up for programs when they are put in place. Research shows that they tend to feel safe on their campuses. When an incident occurs, however, the number of students signing up for alert systems increases, indicating that fear of crime is related to knowledge of actual criminal incidents.

Both parents and their college-bound children are starting to perceive greater risks of crime on college campuses and are preparing themselves accordingly.  Even beyond the college campus, E-policing is becoming a more common form of community protection, effectively supplementing or replacing traditional “Neighborhood Watch” systems. It is an easier, faster, more efficient way to alert community residents, but must be used carefully to avoid causing too much hysteria or stereotyping certain ethnic groups. Some who have signed up for the alerts have become annoyed by their frequency, but they value them for serious emergencies. People already use e-mail and text-messaging technologies, so the challenge for researchers is determining who decides to use them for emergency alerts, and under what circumstances.

References of popular literature, Web sites and so on addressing this phenomenon  

1. Lawrence, Kara. The Daily Telegraph (Australia). “Neighbourhood Inbox New Weapon On Crime”. May 19, 2008. ONLINE: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,23718876-5001030,00.html. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008. 
2. Einhorn, Catrin. New York Times. “Killing of Chicago Student Unsettles Campus Life”. Nov. 22, 2007. ONLINE: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/us/22chicago.html. Accessed Nov. 1, 2008. 
3. Homeland Security Advisory System. ONLINE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security_Advisory_System. Accessed Oct. 28, 2008.       
4. Americans Skeptical About Preventing Virginia Tech-Like Incidents. ONLINE: http://www.gallup.com/poll/27430/Americans-Skeptical-About-Preventing-Virginia-TechLike-Incidents.aspx. May 2, 2007. Accessed Oct. 28, 2008. 
5. Mass Notification Systems from OmniAlert. ONLINE: http://www.omnilert.com/news.html. Accessed Oct. 28, 2008. 
6. Virtual Ed Link. School Safety Management System. ONLINE: http://www.virtualedlink.org/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2008.  
7. Lessons from Virginia Tech: A Disaster Alert System That Works. ONLINE: http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2007/04/vtech_disaster_alerts. Accessed Oct. 29, 2008. 
8. Complying With The Jeanne Clery Act. ONLINE: http://www.securityoncampus.org/schools/cleryact/. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008. 
9. McLarin, Kimberly. The New York Times. “Fear Prompts Self-Defense as Crime Comes to College”. Sept. 7, 1994. ONLINE: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E1D91038F934A3575AC0A962958260. Accessed Oct. 20, 2008. 
10. Yuan, Li. “Murder, She Texted. Wireless Messaging Used to Fight Crime.” Wall Street Journal. ONLINE: http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB118334106678254898.html. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008. 
11. Zagier, Alan Scher. “Students Slow to Embrace Text Alerts.” The Associated Press. http://mobile1.aol.com/mobilearticle/_a/students-slow-to-embrace-text-alerts/20080229085809990001. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008. 
12. Nizza, Mike. “This is Only a (Text Messaging) Text.” The New York Times Online: The Lede Blog. ONLINE: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/this-is-only-a-text-messaging-test. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008. 
13. Nizza, Mike. “More Adventures in Emergency Text-Messaging.” The New York Times Online: The Lede Blog. ONLINE: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/more-adventures-in-emergency-text-messaging. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008. 
14. Labbé-DeBose, Theola. “Community Crime-Fighting Goes Cellular in the District.” The Washington Post, Nov. 2, 2008. pp. A1, A21. 
15. District Launches Crime Alert Pilot Program. ONLINE: http://dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1396&mon=200810. Oct. 15, 2008. 
    1. RSS Feed of DC Alerts for Georgetown. https://textalert.ema.dc.gov/rssfeed.php?gid=4 

 

Identify the demographics of the four individuals you interviewed and summarize their feedback in no more than 150 words per interview.  

 

1. Todd Olson, vice president of student affairs, Georgetown University. 

          Olson primarily advised on creating a potential survey as part of the case study project. His advice included seeking out personnel in the Office of Planning and Institutional Research. The group proposed a series of questions to Olson that may be included in a survey, such as “Do the crime e-mail alerts create an impression that Georgetown University is unsafe?” Olson indicated that the university has no research on the group’s preliminary questions.

          We plan to conduct another interview with Olson as part of the final project in order to gauge his opinions on the e-mail alerts, specifically student reaction to the notifications. We also plan to ask him if students are asking for additional technologies in order to report or receive notice about crime in and around campus.  

 

2. Rocco DelMonaco, vice president of university safety, Georgetown University. 

          Georgetown sends out crime e-mail alerts above the threshold required by the Clery Act. Every criminal complaint involving a student, even if off-campus (i.e. on M Street), is reported as part of Georgetown’s alert system. Crime occurring in the neighborhood surrounding the university also is reported. DelMonaco believes this may lead recipients to believe there is more crime on-campus than actually occurs. 
          Georgetown has a policy not to distinguish between misdemeanor and felony crimes – but not every crime warrants an e-mail alert, the most likely reason being a suspect is apprehended. An incident’s seriousness also is considered – an assault will always warrant an e-mail, but not a laptop theft.
          Crime e-mails have helped increased awareness about incidents and needed community response. But the e-mails only notify the campus community of crime committed – it does not prevent incidents, which is the top priority. To this end, Georgetown is considering adopting other technology to report crime, such as text messaging.

3. Georgetown University student, male sophomore. 

          There are periods when more crime seems to be happening on campus, but during those periods, campus security also seems to pick up. Student reads public safety alerts regularly and uses them frequently to decide where to visit on- or off-campus. For instance, if an incident is reporting in Village A or Village B, the student will still visit that area. But if the incident reported is off-campus, he will think twice about being in that area. 

          The student believes off-campus has “sketchier” areas than on-campus and thinks Prospect street between 36^th and 37^th streets N.W. is the most dangerous part. 

          While the student considers Georgetown to be a safe campus and is comfortable walking alone in the daytime and at night, the crime e-mail alerts do not make him feel safer. Instead, the alerts only notify about crime already committed and how Georgetown’s security failed. 

 

4. Georgetown University student, female freshman. 

          This student considered Georgetown a safe campus before arriving at the university, and this perception has not changed. She reads the crime e-mail alerts sent and says they have made her more aware not to go off-campus alone at night. She generally feels safe off-campus, except for late at night, and is comfortable walking around alone at night and in the daytime. She says the crime e-mail alerts make her feel safer. She does not receive alerts through HOYAlert, the university-wide text messaging, e-mail and voicemail system to notifying the Georgetown community of emergencies – because she was not aware of the service. 

 

5. Georgetown University student, female freshman (2). 

          Before arriving on-campus, she considered Georgetown a safe place. That perception has taken a bit of a hit since arrival; she noted that the e-mail influenced this perception. She frequently reads the crime e-mail alerts – creative titles such as the “Georgetown snuggler” attract her attention – but the e-mails do not change her habits. The alerts make her feel safer because everyone is made aware of what’s happening. She also says the e-mails make it seem as if someone cares about crime on the campus. 

 

6. Georgetown University student, male freshman. 

          This student seemed nonchalant about crime at the university and the e-mail alerts. He considered Georgetown a safe campus before arriving and that perception has not changed. He feels safe walking alone at night and in the daytime and says the e-mails do not change his behavior or make him feel more or less safe. He does not receive alerts through HOYAlert, the university-wide text messaging, e-mail and voicemail system to notifying the Georgetown community of emergencies – because he doesn’t want too many junk e-mails. 

 

7. Georgetown University student, male freshman (2). 

          This student reads e-mails only when they are “silly,” (i.e. the one that involved the guy that tried to rob Vital Vittles). He likes reading the e-mails because they are funny. He considers Georgetown a safe campus and felt that way before arriving. He feels slightly safer on-campus because there are guards. The crime e-mails do not make him feel more or less safe.