Caltech Campus Night Safety Walk

On the evening of April 18, Caltech staff, students, and community members gathered for the Campus Night Safety Walk with the goal of creating a safer campus for all.

The event, organized by Caltech Security and supported by the offices of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), Student Affairs, and Facilities, marked a proactive initiative to ensure a safe and secure environment on campus during evening hours.

"This is a big deal," said Charlie Lane, Caltech vice president and chief operating officer, at the beginning of the event, remarking that he was impressed to see so many community members in attendance. "We are really interested in getting your perspectives on what you see and feel tonight."

Hampton Cantrell, chief of campus security and parking services, added, "What we learn here will enable a community-informed approach to campus safety, so thank you all for taking time out of your evening to contribute to this important exercise."

At the event, about 50 participants convened for a community dinner outside Broad Café, then moved to the Chen Neuroscience Research Building to prepare for the walk. There, they split into groups led by Caltech security officers, with a balance of students and at least one staff member from each participating office. The groups carried flashlights, maps, and forms to take notes, and each one surveyed a different quadrant of campus.

Under the cloak of night, the groups identified and documented safety concerns, including inadequate or broken lighting, obscured walkways due to overgrown landscaping, and trip hazards, and tested emergency telephones. Collectively, the groups walked the entire campus grounds and highlighted potential safety interventions.

Afterward, participants returned to the Chen building to share their observations. Using a systematic approach, Caltech Security and Facilities personnel ranked issues requiring immediate action, those in need of correction via a work-order process, and lower-priority issues for consideration. Caltech Security and Facilities are currently addressing identified safety hazards in order of risk and priority. Broken lights and areas on campus with low lighting accounted for most of the identified issues.

For members of the campus community who were unable to attend the walk and would like to report a campus safety concern, please use the Caltech Community Concern Report Form to inform Caltech Security and EH&S.

The Campus Night Safety Walk will be an annual event and is part of an ongoing series of efforts aimed at working with the community to continuously improve safety and security at Caltech. For future updates regarding Caltech Security, visit the Caltech Today website.