Good morning. First, let me apologize for the length of this message. We would like to share as much information as we can with you so you can make better decisions about your personal safety.
Since the media report on September 24, 2014 of a suspicious person approaching a female student near the parking garage, Campus Safety has been actively gathering information about this case. We are sharing this information with Winter Park Police Department to hopefully identify the responsible person and deter similar occurrences in the future.
I wanted to take a moment to review the facts surrounding this case, provide additional information we have learned, and share actions we have taken to reduce the likelihood of this behavior in the future.
On September 9, 2014 at 538pm, Campus Safety received a call from a female student who stated that a suspicious man was following her on the South side of the SunTrust parking garage. She provided a description and said that she was crossing Fairbanks Avenue. The Campus Safety Dispatch Officer sent two Campus Safety Officers to the garage area in an attempt to locate the person in question. However, we failed to connect the responding officers with the student. This prevented an incident report from being generated, any follow up investigation or communication to the campus community, and any follow up care for the student. After approximately 10-15 minutes of searching the area, the officers cleared the call when they were unable to locate the person.
Campus Safety leadership became aware of the situation on September 24, 2014, after an inquiry by local news media asking about a number of assaults that took place in the parking garage. This academic year, we have not received a report of an assault taking place in, or around, the garage. At that time, the reporter provided very little information to us and their initial characterization of the incident was incorrect. After learning more about the specific incident they were referencing and speaking with staff members that were on duty, we were able to piece together what happened and where the breakdown in our response was.
Upon learning of the incident, and over the last week, we have worked with Student Affairs to ensure that the student was cared for and to gather more information about anecdotal reports of additional suspicious behavior taking place. Earlier this week we received additional information from three other female students that experienced suspicious behavior in the surrounding community throughout the month of September. In each instance, according to the students, the men exhibited concerning, aggressive behavior that led the women to fear for their personal safety. Due to the descriptions that we have been provided, we do not believe the same male was involved in each case – these are separate cases with separate men.
Person of interest #1 - White male, probably somewhere around 6 foot and he was wearing a white striped shirt with dress pants and a backpack, approximately 30-40 years old
Person of interest #2 – African American male, approximately 5’8”-5’10” tall, very dark skin, wearing an oversized neon orange sweatshirt and shorts. He is also believed to have very small and short dreadlocks
Person of interest #3 – African-American male, approximately 6’3”-6’4” tall, light skin, with a round belly, round face, short cropped hair and an accent. He was wearing a light blue, short sleeved polo shirt. He may be driving a dark blue minivan.
Person of interest #4 – White, male, approx. 40-50 years old, 5’10-5’11, wearing plaid-patterned shorts, and a backpack.
Over the course of the past few years we have taken several steps to improve the overall safety and security of the SunTrust parking garage, which include:
-Upgraded all of the lighting to newer LED lights, which provide a much cleaner and realistic light.
-Installed 24 CCTV cameras in key locations in the parking garage.
-Placed signage on the exterior of the garage, stating that the property is protected by CCTV to act as a deterrent.
-Extended hours of the parking garage attendants to 10 pm during the work week. This was done to ensure someone would be in the garage while the majority of students were returning to their vehicles after evening classes.
-Moved parking garage attendants under the direction of the Campus Safety Department to increase training and communication, in an attempt to create a stronger relationship with the campus.
In the past week, we have accomplished several goals to improve our operation and to provide better services to the campus community.
-Adding staff, specifically to provide safety escorts during peak times.
-Reviewing service, report writing, and escort policies with all Campus Safety staff members.
-Holding a Campus Safety staff meeting to review concerns expressed by students dealing with our safety escort problem.
-Attending a meeting with SGA representatives where we listened to student concerns and shared information pertaining to our capabilities on campus and our limitations off campus.-
-Sharing information with WPPD about the suspicious activity happening around our campus. Both WPPD and Campus Safety officers are actively engaged and aware of the current concerns.
We need your help in identifying the individuals responsible for this behavior. If you see someone acting in a suspicious manner or have been approached, immediately report it to Campus Safety at 407-646-2999 or WPPD at 911. Officers will immediately respond, take the appropriate information to file a report, and attempt to identify the person in question.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these cases as quickly and thoroughly as we can.
Thank you,
Kenneth Miller
Director of Campus Safety