After reading the recent article entitled “DPS talks assaults, security,” I was more than a little concerned that all of the discussion about Syracuse University community safety is nothing more than transparent window dressing. If the Department of Public Safety was truly concerned about trying to help reduce crime and improve safety around campus, then why do they send community members ridiculously incomplete warning messages via email and text after a safety incident?  Specifically, the alerts typically provide a description of the perpetrator or assailant such as, “Male, 25 years of age, 5’9” tall, dark clothing, no further description.”

Seriously? Would it not greatly improve the likelihood that the perpetrator might actually be identified and apprehended if DPS were to provide one of the simplest and easiest physical descriptors: the ethnicity of the perpetrator? Was that male assailant an Anglo, African-American, Asian, Hispanic or possibly mixed-race? Are we to believe that a victim under significant duress can provide the assailant’s height, clothing and approximate age, yet they are somehow unable to provide one of the easiest phenotype identifiers? That truly beggars belief. Every single safety alert I have ever received omits any ethnic identifier. Simple question: “Why?”

If I’m trying to find a friend’s car in a crowded parking lot, I’ll have a much easier time narrowing down possible options if I know what color of car to look for. So, either all of these assailants are some translucent beings of possible Nosferatu origin, or DPS is sitting on some very valuable information that might actually be of great assistance to the community that could possibly lead to an ID and arrest. Again, “Why”?  I can make a reasonable guess as to why, but the point of this letter isn’t to stir up some flame war that will obscure the actual truth of the matter. The point is about whether or not DPS is legitimately giving the SU community all of the necessary information after a safety incident so that we can assist them with their job of protecting us all and bringing criminals to justice.

So I’m left with no other reasonable possibility here other than there must be “something” much more important than community safety on and around the SU campus. I think it would be very valuable to have an honest discussion about what that “something” is and let the SU community decide whether that “something” is truly more important than our safety.

Sincerely,
Matthew R. McReynolds
MPA ‘16
MS-Information Management ’16