Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety and the Syracuse Police Department have increased patrols on the perimeter of the SU campus in response to the Sept. 26 robbery and reports of other robberies on the perimeter of campus in the past few days, according to Public Safety Interim Chief Tony Callisto.

Investigation of the Sept. 26 robbery is an ongoing joint effort between Public Safety and the criminal investigation unit of Syracuse Police, Callisto said.

A male Syracuse University student on Sept. 26 was robbed at 1:35 a.m. while walking alone on the 500 block of Ostrom Avenue. Three males took his money and one of them hit him with a metal pole.

The additional patrols, made up of both Public Safety and Syracuse Police cars, have been added to deter future robberies or assaults from occurring, Callisto said.

‘We are trying to be really preventative so these things don’t happen again over the next few days,’ Callisto said. ‘These efforts need to be matched by students’ efforts.’

Callisto said while the descriptions from the recent robbery and attempted robberies on campus have been somewhat similar, they are not assuming the same people committed them.

While several incidents have occurred in the last few weeks, Callisto said crimes are occurring at around the same level as in the past.

Callisto once again stressed the importance of not walking alone after dark and encouraged students to take advantage of Public Safety escorts and the Shuttle-U-Home program.

Callisto also said that if a student walking alone is nervous or scared, they can call the Public Safety number to be picked up.

‘We can’t be a taxi service, of course, but if you are really scared don’t be afraid to call,’ he said.

He said these kinds of calls to Public Safety have almost doubled this year from past years.

To report any information regarding the robbery, call Public Safety at 443-2224 or visit the Silent Witness Web site, http://publicsafety.syr.edu/silent.html.

Published on September 27, 2006 at 12:00 pm