Staff editorial: Silent witnesses - Bring surveillance cameras to the UW

Nearly every e-mail we receive from the police contains another report of an alarming incident of violence on or near the UW campus, followed by something along the lines of this: “Responding UWPD officers were unable to locate the suspect.”

First things first: This is not the UWPD’s fault. It’s a great credit to the police that we have received so many timely and detailed reports following incidences of crime on campus and north of Northeast 45th Street. The UWPD continues to keep us informed, even at the risk of appearing unable to control crime in the U-District.

Although both the UWPD and Seattle Police Department officers try their best to track down miscreants based on victims’ descriptions, there are great difficulties inherent in such investigations. Fortunately, not all the work needs to be done by officers on the ground.

Other universities faced with similar challenges have turned to a technological solution in the form of surveillance cameras. Harvard, the University of New Mexico, Brown University and other large institutions already augment their security forces with cameras, which not only deter potential wrongdoers, but also helps identify those who commit crimes.

While a significant amount of criminal activity in the U-District occurs in areas north of Northeast 45th Street, police can at least use cameras to monitor on-campus places like the Burke-Gilman Trail and the Montlake parking lots, where violent incidents have occurred in the past few months.

In addition, increased remote surveillance on the UW campus could free up the UWPD officers for patrols in areas where camera placement is not an option.

I have no doubt some of the more extreme civil libertarians among us will greet such a proposal with hysteric cries of Big Brother, conjuring up images of telescreens and the Thought Police. Most have likely never suffered the indignity of being mugged or assaulted and have mysteriously deluded themselves into thinking that they should be more afraid of the UWPD than of the brick gang and the Ave. rats.

Let’s be realistic: Brown and Harvard have not turned into totalitarian dictatorships because of camera surveillance, and neither would the UW.

Members of the UW community have a right to be safe from violent attacks against their persons and property and to see the perpetrators of such attacks identified and punished.

Taxpayers, students and private donors who pay for the University’s expenses deserve a world-class institution, which, in spite of all its academic excellence, the UW will cease to be if crime on campus continues to rise.

Cameras are no substitute for our dedicated police force, but in sufficient numbers they would be a significant step toward cracking down on crime at the UW while sending would-be muggers, car and bike thieves, vandals and rapists a message: The night has a thousand eyes, and they are watching you.