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发帖数: 10208 | 1 This past weekend saw crime and tragedy in the St. Louis area and in our
medical center’s neighborhood. In the Central West End alone, an innocent
victim was murdered, and in a separate incident, four Washington University
students were robbed at gunpoint.
I am concerned by this turn of events and my thoughts are with the people
affected. This is unsettling to the entire campus community. I want to
assure you that we work closely with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police
Department and surrounding neighborhoods to fight crime. We are continually
seeking and evaluating ideas on how we can do better.
We have a team working diligently to keep the Central West End safe. Brian
Phillips heads that team through the Washington University Medical Center
Redevelopment Corporation, a partnership between the School of Medicine and
our BJC hospital partners, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s
Hospital. Brian and his staff work daily with local and campus police,
residents and businesses on safety initiatives.
One such program is the Neighborhood Security Initiative (NSI), established
in 2008 with the help of Brian’s team. Each month the NSI directs 285
patrol shifts for over 1,300 hours of supplemental police coverage in the
neighborhood. The NSI holds monthly community meetings for Central West End
residents to discuss security and crime prevention. It is also responsible
for the increased lighting and security cameras in the neighborhood and for
sending crime alerts to businesses and residents.
The School of Medicine is heavily involved with the program in man hours and
financial resources. We think what we’ve been doing has shown positive
results. Neighborhood crime is down 50% since the program’s inception. But
clearly, no violent crime is acceptable. In the days and weeks ahead, we
will continue to work with police and neighbors to evaluate our efforts and
to see what more can be done.
In the meantime, the School of Medicine is committing $10,000 to the award
fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the murderer.
Sincerely,
Larry J. Shapiro, M.D.
Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs and Dean | M****7
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