Vanderbilt community members received an AlertVU notification on Nov. 8 notifying them of an ongoing armed robbery and carjacking at 2004 Terrace Place. VUPS said it will respond with increased patrols in the area.
The street was the site of several break-ins and one vehicle theft earlier this month. After those incidents, VUPD similarly told The Hustler it was increasing patrols on and around campus.
Additionally, junior Shea Greenberg told The Hustler his car was burglarized in the same area around 10:30 p.m. CST on Nov. 5, after which he got in touch with VUPD to express security concerns. VUPS did not send out a security notice following this incident.
“Around four cars were broken into [that night], and they never sent anything out,” Greenberg said. “Also, it wasn’t until I and other students reached out that they decided to up the security in the area.”
The Hustler could not independently confirm whether a decision was made to increase the frequency of patrols before Greenberg and other students contacted VUPD.
VUPD declined to comment on whether the incidents appear related.
Greenberg expressed frustration with VUPD’s reaction to the carjackings.
“I’m certainly glad that VUPD responded and increased security; I’m just upset it took student input to recognize a problem and that they still downplayed it in their response,” Greenberg said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of criminal activity coming from the [Terrace Place] area, and it’s concerning as a Kissam resident, so hopefully the officers are actually patrolling over there more frequently.”
A Nov. 10 email from VUPD Chief of Police August Washington and Deputy Chief of Police Tommye Sutton sought to reassure students of Vanderbilt’s commitment to safety and security.
“While there are no indications of a significant increase in safety risk, out of an abundance of caution we are deploying additional officers on patrols and enhancing our coverage of the campus by stepping up our video patrols,” the email reads. “We also continue to focus our efforts on the daily rhythms of campus, such as when there is increased pedestrian traffic at the end of the day — particularly as it is getting darker earlier.”
The email also offered tips for students to stay safe and encouraged students to download the VandySafe app.
