Every semester it’s almost as if I ask myself, what scary incident will happen this time?

I do believe that El Camino does a good job when trying to keep us safe, but it could be better. Although in reality this world is getting crazier by the day and it’s almost impossible to keep any public school legitimately safe.

For a while now EC hasn’t had the best reputation when it comes to safety on Campus. Before coming to this school I remember hearing and reading about crimes that took place here.

After spending the last few semesters here it seems that the incidents are getting more intense and are happening more frequently.

The James Lemus story back in 2014 where he threatened to come to campus and kill faculty members and students. Multiple incidents of cars and car parts being stolen. The kid who said he had a gun held to hostage and had the cops shoot him. Most recently the Dashiell Porter story where he allegedly threatened to kill his former professor multiple times over a year for failing him.

Our parking lots need to be monitored much more strictly than they currently are. The amount of thefts reported over the last few years is ridiculous.

In September 2015, during a 40 day span there were 10 vehicles that had their catalytic converters stolen. Motor vehicle theft in general went up from three in 2013, to seven in 2014.

Unfortunately I did not find an updated report for 2015 that would’ve been interesting to compare.

Despite the negativity, EC has made efforts to improve safety.

Our campus has giant blue posts next to the parking lots that have a button you can press to alert the police. This is a fantastic service for students to have, but not all of them work.

I have seen multiple posts that have been out of service for too long. Why even have them if we don’t care enough to fix them?

EC also has campus police officers and cadets patrolling around campus.

One thing I love is that they offer students a free shuttle to their cars. More people should take advantage of this, especially those taking classes in the evening.

It’s just one of a number of possible improvements that can be made to combat crime.

If EC could make more improvements that would be great, like adding more officers on duty or implementing better safety procedures.

Our school should want the students here to feel as safe as they can. I think it’s time for a change to be made and for everyone to take our school safety more seriously.