Worthy Goal-More Preventative Measures to Protect Against Violent Crime

As news comes out about how security at colleges is somewhat inadequate, it got me thinking about this problem. At the University of Washington, a student was recently killed by her stalker ex-boyfriend even after campus police knew about the stalker. And what happened at Virginia Tech is all too recent to even begin to forget about that sad event. But what can be done? For one, I can’t imagine that the large universities have nearly enough security personnel. During my time at UW, I can rarely recall security personnel or police being all too present except for sporting events or weekends when parties were underway. Unfortunately, I felt that the reason for the security or police presence was more for trying to bust up parties as opposed to preventing violent crime. Should there be a shift in thinking about what police and security should focus on? I think that may be a possibility. While underage drinking could pose a problem, violent stalkers and mentally ill students armed for World War III is a much more serious matter. And personally, I think those issues are worth reviewing. Can certain violent crimes be prevented? Is there a better policing method to enhance safety? I’m not so sure that relying on tried and true policing and security methods will gain any new efficiencies. So if that’s the case, how do we adjust to our changing times?