USC gets new safety measures after double homicide

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Tags:

shooting, school, robbery, los angeles news

By Darsha Philips and Miriam Hernandez

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- New safety measures are being put in place at University of Southern California following the shooting deaths of two graduate students.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined police and school officials on Thursday to discuss the recent spike in crime near the USC campus and the new safety measures being implemented.

There have been no arrests in the deaths of the two graduate students who were gunned down while sitting in a BMW near campus earlier this month. A $200,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.

"This is an awful, singular incident. But this is not the trend," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck during a news conference.

Just a week after the double homicide, a group of USC students were robbed at gunpoint near campus. Campus police were able to shoot and wound that man.

On Monday, a student reported that she was attacked near campus.

The objective now for USC and the LAPD is to minimize even random crime. Thirty LAPD officers will be transferred into the Southwest division to beef up patrols in the areas surrounding the school. An additional four officers will overlap patrols with campus security in the areas of off-campus student housing.

"The university has pledged that this will not come out of the police department's funds, that the university will make the city whole for this," Beck said.

Additionally, the university's network of cameras, which are monitored 24 hours a day, will be integrated with LAPD's system. More sites for cameras will be located, and a gang detail will identify persistent troublemakers to make sure those who are told to stay away keep away.