Teens accused of theft, assaulting UALR researcher
Last Update: 3/26/2009 9:05 am
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Two teenagers face robbery charges after UALR police say the pair assaulted a staff member. Officers found the two teenage boys later Wednesday afternoon in a neighborhood near the campus. Incidents like this have campus officials constantly working to keep students and faculty safe.
UALR is a commuter school. You won't find as many residence halls on this campus as you would other universities. Since the school is located in the heart of the community, in one step you could be standing in an urban Little Rock neighborhood and on campus the next.
"From time to time, bad actors will come on campus," says Cindy Milazzo, Associate Vice-Chancellor.
Wednesday, they did. This time, campus police say two teens did it to beat up a staff member and steal his wallet and cell phone.
“They tell me, just be careful," says student Hao Li.
Li doesn't have a car, so he walks around campus. But there's a limit to where he'll go.
"Around Fair Park, that area, it's a little bad. I don't walk to Asher. People say sometimes it's not safe," Li explained.
Just over a year ago, police arrested two men who came on campus and shot a student. Campus officials believe the student knew the shooters. After it happened, the school formed a committee on campus safety.
"They suggested gating and fencing some of the parking lots and they suggested hiring more security guards. We've already done that," Milazzo said.
Those little things mean a lot for students who just want to learn.
"I do think it’s unfortunate that we have those types of incidents on campus," said student Joseph Harris.
Campus officials say they constantly look at beefing up security and encourage students to take advantage of emergency phones. There are almost 100 of them spread throughout the campus.
"The blue light [on the phone] is lit at night and anyone who feels unsafe or wants an escort to their car can pick that up," Milazzo explained.
Those phones will immediately contact campus police who work 24 hours. UALR has a total of 27 officers and 8 security officers working around the clock to prevent crime and respond when criminals strike.
Police found the two teenagers at 3:45 Wednesday afternoon hanging outside on Berkshire Drive, approximately a minute away from campus.
UALR tracks crimes like thefts and burglaries each year. At the end of 2007, there were 17 burglaries on campus. That's down from 23 in 2005.To search crime statistics for any college or university, click here.
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