(NewsNation) — After a string of crimes near the University of California, Berkeley campus, a group of parents dubbed Safe Bears took action and raised $40,000 to hire private security guards to patrol the campus.
One of those parents, Sagar Jethani, joined “NewsNation Now” on Friday to explain why he and other parents thought the measure was necessary.
“We would love nothing more than for the school to put the measures in place that are required to keep students free from violent attacks,” Jethani said. “Here’s what the school does not say: 10 years ago they had 80 campus police officers. Last year, they had 42. This year, they’ve built it up to 45.”
Burglaries in Oakland California were up 23% in 2023, while motor vehicle thefts were up 44% and robberies 38%, according to the Oakland Police Department.
In-N-Out Burger recently cited crime as one of the reasons it chose to close its Oakland location.
“Despite taking steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies,” an official statement said.
As for the concerned parents of college students, Jethani suggested the school take more proactive steps to keep campus safe.
“What we simply want are the measures the school told us were in place but weren’t so — things like campus police officers keeping the dorms safe, maybe put some keycard swipes on the doors so students can’t access student housing unless they live there…” Jethani said.