Students on campus commented on the increased security measures implemented at Cosumnes River College and said they have noticed the rise in patrols.

The Los Rios Community College District has contracted Members In Black, a local security company, to provide extra support for the Los Rios Police Department as an increase of vandalism and trespassing have been reported.

“I absolutely feel safe, especially since some classes are at 10 p.m.,” said 30-year-old biology major Fatemeh Shahbazi. “When I see the police officers around, I really feel safe and secure.”

Since Feb.3, there have been 145 reported incidents on campus, ranging from suspicious activity to theft, according to the Daily Crime and Fire Log Bulletin provided by the LRPD.

Vanessa Escamilla, a 19-year-old science major, said she has especially noticed the presence of security after the attempted robbery on March 22 reported by the LRPD.

According to the Los Rios Alert, a female student reported she was walking on campus around 8:30 a.m. when a male subject attempted to grab her backpack. Nothing was taken from the female student and police are searching for the suspect.

“It actually happened where I park, so I’ve been more aware and make sure I have my keys out before I get to my car,” Escamilla said.

Jenae Castro, a 20-year-old film and media studies major, said she definitely feels safer with the increased patrol and thinks it’s a good idea to have officers on campus to prevent future incidents.

As previously reported by The Connection, MIB officers are not permitted to make an arrest, nor are campus patrol officers. Only officers of LRPD are authorized to make an arrest on campus if necessary. The MIB actively patrols the campus from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Twenty-year-old web development and computer science major Danellie McPheeters said she noticed the MIB patrols around campus at the start of the semester and feels safe.

“I do notice though that I take the light rail and when I get on by one of the stations near Valley High, there are noisy and rambunctious high schoolers and homeless people,” Danellie McPheeters said.

Melissa McPheeters, a 22-year-old nutrition and psychology major and sister to Danellie McPheeters, said she has always felt safe and views CRC as a safe campus.

“Last semester especially, there were a lot of high schoolers getting rowdy, like I would come in and go to the library and they would be walking by or riding their bicycles between people walking,” Melissa McPheeters said.

Los Rios Police Capt. Christopher Mora said there is an increase in reports of disturbances caused by local high school students and unhoused individuals.

“It is nice to know that there are other patrols out there,” 26-year-old sociology major Akash Singh said. “Especially with high school students, a lot of them tend to make a lot of noise. Sometimes them being on campus isn’t really a problem, it’s just when it gets out of hand.”

Local high school students have been in the bathrooms kicking cans, spray painting around campus and smoking weed in the parking structure, Mora said.

“I’ve noticed the patrol more around four because that’s when all the high schoolers get out,” said 18-year-old biology major Daniel Panganiban. “I feel safe. I do see the high schoolers around five or six, but it’s never been a problem.”

Robert Gualberto, an 18-year-old kinesiology major, said he’s seen kids on campus who don’t look like they attend CRC, but overall, he feels pretty safe on campus.

“I’ve heard some people talk about how there are homeless people near the parking lots, and just yesterday I saw kids in the parking garage riding their bikes,” Gualberto said.

The LRPD encourages students to call (916) 558-2221 or 911 in the case of an emergency. Students can report a theft online or report other crimes in person to the CRC Campus Police in the Operations & Public Safety building, north of the Learning Resources Center.

The Associated Students of CRC is hosting a safety event on Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in WINN 150 with free food, campus safety information, a resource fair and a self-defense class. To attend the safety event, RSVP online.