Spring Break
Students lead in crime prevention
Natasha Pande
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: News
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Assistant Professor Robert Stokes met with the UCD over the summer and asked them if they had any issues with which Drexel Students could help. Stokes' crime prevention class was then given the opportunity to focus on crime prevention for the Lancaster Avenue business corridor.
Stokes, who specializes in Urban Planning and Public Policy, said having a crime prevention plan is an important element of any development plan. The main area the class will be focusing on will be Lancaster Avenue-the students will learn that crime and fear of crime is an issue in these areas.
Stokes said that they extended the plan to 41st Street, which is slightly outside the UCD boundary.
"The UCD boundaries stop at Spring Garden and Lancaster and contracted by folks in this district to clean the sidewalks, however, their management district does not extend all the way through the Lancaster Avenue District corridor," Stokes said, and suggests that it should be done.
When asked why this project specifically tailored to Lancaster Ave. business corridor, Stokes said: "Crime prevention plans are usually place specific, and focused on key strategic areas. Business districts have an interesting dynamic and thus are usually more amenable to these sorts of plans than residential neighborhoods."
Students from Stokes' crime prevention planning class are working on this project in groups because it is not only within walking distance but promoting security is something Drexel encourages all the time. Stokes said that ten weeks is a very short time to come up with a plan. His class worked on the initial stages, which was the "needs assessment." He said they had to "survey the area, make note of its problems and crime trends, and see what the police and the community were doing about these issues."
Stokes added that because of the brief time they had, he will be handing over a final compilation of recommendations in collaboration with the UCD to the LISC over winter break.
According to Stokes, some recommendations may include the role of the new Drexel Police Department, finding funding for a new streetscape plan that includes better lighting, CCTV, and a better business recruitment plan that can fill some of the empty storefronts with thriving businesses.
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