To Parents of our working group, UGA Parents for Safety and Security, and members of our nonprofit SafeD Athens FB Page,

On April 24, 2023, SafeD Athens/UGA Parents for Safety and Security met with Dan Silk [UGA police chief and VP Public Safety], Kevin Abernethy [VP of Government Relations], and Alison McCullick [UGA Community Outreach] to discuss funding of an ambassador program through Block by Block.  This programming is simply one layer of added security for UGA students and community members and would provide ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground to alert potential problems, act as courtesy ambassadors to help students navigate incidents off-campus, provide personal escorts as needed late at night, and also provide homeless outreach services using specialized outreach ambassadors on and around campus.  Real-time data collection through the SMART System would enable Advantage Outreach to keep tabs on activities of their unsheltered homeless clients.  This type of data collection, outside of the state mandated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), is desired by Advantage Outreach.

Unfortunately, UGA does NOT consider activities and security risks off campus to be their responsibility.  Though there is a 500 yard UGA Police jurisdiction surrounding all Board of Regents property (including UGA campus and off-site buildings), current UGA public safety leadership and others at UGA do not want to take any lead position in this buffer zone and will only assist Athens-Clarke County Police when asked and directed during an ongoing incident.  Thus, if you are off campus and need help, it is standard practice to be directed to ACCPD for responsive action.  If you are on campus, and call 911, typically the call is routed through ACCPD dispatch and immediately forwarded to UGA Police with assistance from ACCPD as deemed necessary.  If the call is considered an emergency, ACCPD will simultaneously be dispatched en route as well as UGA Police.  

It was clear that our proposals were not taken seriously.  We were only able to touch on Block by Block without details of how the program works and the use of ambassadors by many schools including USC, OSU and others was excluded from discussion.  Our understanding was that leadership read our proposals earlier this year but based upon comments from the group, that clearly was not the case.  We were stonewalled many times trying to get this hour of their time and when we finally did, it was clear they were uninformed and unwilling to consider taking responsibility for student safety off campus in any meaningful way. 

We emphasized that students want escorts on campus.  Students, visitors, alumni, and Athens citizens do not “feel” and are “not safe” in Athens especially downtown and around off campus housing.  UGA is the main draw of a large population to Athens yet cannot house all students that desire to live on campus and under UGA’s umbrella of safety/security programs.  Our student population is vulnerable which includes a significant number of international students.  In stressing this to UGA’s Abernethy, Silk, and McCullick, accountability and responsibility for campus community safety outside the actual UGA boundaries remains with ACCPD.  UGA is disinterested in leading with a safety and security program like Block by Block (used in 100 cities anchored by major universities) to enhance well being for the campus community as well as promote community change and improvement.  

Here is our Block by Block proposal which was sent to a member of the Board of Regents for review and subsequently in the hands of UGA Public Safety and leadership.  Unless parents speak out and push, UGA will not consider any safety programming outside of the main campus.  This is the bottom line.  It will take a heinous crime off campus, something like the murder of a student (i.e. Univ of Texas’s Haruka Weiser and Harrison Brown, USC’s Xinran Ji), to gain their attention, and then publicly lay complete responsibility on Athens-Clarke County Police, even if it occurs within the 500 yard (0.284 mile) jurisdiction of UGA Police.  UGA Public Safety and leadership refuse to be proactive towards student safety off campus.  Like other universities have found themselves dealing with a horrific event on or off campus, UGA Public Safety and leadership will find themselves reacting.  Let’s hope we are wrong. 

We are a working group and open to new ideas.  Please continue to contribute your thoughts and expertise relative to combined efforts to enhance safety and security for UGA students and the surrounding community. 

Live Smart Live Safe

Sincerely,

UGA Parents for Safety and Security FB Page and SafeD Athens, Inc