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Evening escorts continue

By Randi Bemiss, On-line Forty-Niner
July 16,1998

The Community Service Officer Night Escort Service remains busy safely delivering students to their cars or dormitories, despite the decrease in student traffic during the summer.

The Escort Service, a division of the University Police, provides a security escort to any student concerned about safety on campus. Escorts are available from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

One can spot a community service officer wearing a bright yellow collared T-shirt imprinted with "University Police" on the left breast and CSULB in black on the back. Or, a black jacket with similar print in yellow or yellow rain jacket, as described in the Escort Service Beach Safety pamphlet available from the the police.

"Students can very simply use the Escort Service; all they have to do is use one of over 200 emergency phones with blue lights throughout the campus," said Sergeant Bonnie Myers, director of the Escort Service.

Or, students can push the public safety button on the public phones on campus with a digital display which accesses the police where an Escort Service dispatcher will arrange for an escort by someone in the field. An emergency phone with a direct line to the UP is also installed on every elevator on campus.

"We always have a good turnout for the summer. We probably do about 1,000 escorts a month in the summer months," said Myers. "It depends on how many activities are on campus. During the regular school year we do around 18,000 escorts."

The Escort Service has four community services officers on duty each evening. They also offer security and traffic control for events at The Pyramid and the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.

The service is open this summer for fingerprinting and bicycle licensing, Monday through Thursday, 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.. The fee for a fingerprinting card is $5. The program provides for registration of bicycles with the city of Long Beach for $2 and a "cryptonite" bicycle lock for $10, said Myers.

Cal State Long Beach's Department of Public Safety, Crime Prevention unit offers the following safety tips to students.

  • 4 Lock and raise or close the windows when driving or leaving vehicles for even short periods of time to both deter theft and keep uninvited passengers away.
  • 4 Conceal anything you leave in your car - the trunk is the safest.
  • 4 Do not leave valuable documents or credit cards in the glove box.
  • 4 Do not leave identification on your key ring because a thief could use it to locate and burglarize your car or home.
  • 4 Engrave bicycles, compact disc players and tape decks with a driver's license number.
  • 4 Park bicycles only in designated spots and lock.
  • Public safety also advises students to keep the following phone numbers handy.

  • Police emergency: 911
  • Saint Mary's Hospital emergency: 491-9090.
  • Long Beach Memorial Hospital Center emergency: 933-1400.
  • The Long Beach Rape Crisis Center Hotline: 597-2002.
  • UP non-emergency: 985-4101.