Air Conditioner Thefts at Tulsa Public Schools

[patric]

Tulsa Public Schools is experiencing a rash of overnight air conditioning thefts, and no one seems to have a clue as to what to do.

...or is willing to try something unconventional that has worked elsewhere.

A couple of articles I have sent to TPS over the years; decide for yourself if we are ignoring some options that might be worth trying:


Dark Campus Programs Reduce Vandalism and Save Money
(from "Building Operator" magazine, #9, p. 7, 1991.)

Conventional wisdom suggests that light reduces crime. That's why outdoor lights are often called "security lights". School districts across the U.S. are turning conventional wisdom on its head by turning off lights on school grounds.

The results have been impressive. Annual energy savings can add up to hundreds of dollars per school. Significant decreases in vandalism have been documented since the "Dark Campus" policies have gone into effect. Here are three examples.

The San Antonio (Texas) School District was one of the first to try this idea back in 1973. The annual cost of repairing damage caused by vandalism dropped from $160,000 to $41,000 in just a few years.

"I remember as a kid, we never hung around in the dark," says Sam Wolf, director of security for the district. "We hung around a street light. We wanted to see who was with us." The thrill of vandalism is partly in seeing a window shatter or watching paint cover a wall. Darkness takes away the thrill.

The 4-J School District in Eugene, Oregon has eight schools participating in their Dark Campus program. Since it began as an experiment in 1989, vandalism has virtually disappeared in certain problem schools.

At one school annual energy savings totaled $300. That was just icing on the cake compared to time saved on repairing and cleaning up damage caused by vandalism. The district also researched their insurance requirement and found that turning off all the lights, including exit signs, was okay when nobody was in a facility. In California, the Livermore Joint Unified School District reports energy savings of about ten percent along with a slight decrease in vandalism. Cupertino Union School District reported that vandalism dropped 29 percent, while energy savings totaled $8,190 during the 1981-82 school year. For both districts, the campus blackout was part of a larger anti-vandalism strategy.

Why Dark Campus Works

There's no scientific evidence that night time blackouts cause a reduction in vandalism. However, it seems to work well, especially in upper and middle class neighborhoods. When everyone gets used to dark school grounds, lights of any kind will arouse suspicion.

To be effective, turn off all the lights to make the campus as dark as possible. This may be difficult to do in some buildings, and rewiring may be required.

To make Dark Campus work you have to do more than just turn out the lights. Communication is the key component of the program. You need to be sure that students, staff, neighbors, and police know what you're doing. Expect skepticism. Bring proof that the idea works.

The 4-J School District developed the following checklist that will help you cover all the bases.

Checklist for Success

Define the Policy

    * Set hours for the blackout; 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM is often used.
    * Instruct students and staff that the building is off limits during dark hours.

Implement The Program

    * Inform local law enforcement officials. Get their views and try to address their concerns.
    * Inform school district officials.
    * Communicate with neighbors and parents. Informal meeting, flyers, and school newsletters are a few methods for getting the word out. Emphasize that any lights seen during dark hours should be reported to the police.
    * Post prominent signs on all sides of the campus listing the dark hours and a police telephone number to call.
    * Block access to all foot and vehicle traffic.
    * Install lights controlled by occupancy sensors and audible alarms in areas with valuable equipment, such as computer labs.

Track The Program

    * Keep notes on starting dates, communications, etc.
    * Record results, including energy savings and occurrences of vandalism.
    * Promote your success.



* * * * * *


School systems around the country are finding the way to deter loitering and vandalism is to not provide lighted gathering spots for kids at night.  "Dark Campus" programs rely on the presence of light where it doesnt belong to draw attention to potential troubles:  Headlights where they shouldnt be, people using flashlights or tripping motion detector lights attract the eyes of neighbors and police more effectively than all-night lighting that people shut out with curtains and blinds.


Battle Ground School District in Clark County has reduced vandalism to almost zero with a policy to darken campus after 10:30 p.m. Spokane School District and Riverside School District have been experiencing similar results for over six years.

Is it possible to save energy and cut crime at the same time? According to school district experience, vandalism has been cut by simply turning off the lights. Sound preposterous? Experience shows that contrary to conventional law enforcement theory, which stresses well-lit areas, many districts had less vandalism once they've instituted a dark campus policy to save energy dollars. This is significant when you consider how much vandalism costs schools.

In 1980, California public schools lost approximately 13 million dollars from vandalism related acts during non-school hours, according to statistics collected by the State Department of Education.

One of the first school districts to reason that vandals get no thrill out of working in the dark was the San Antonio School District in Texas. In 1973 they started a night time black out program at 19 schools. Sam Wolf, Director of Security for the district says, "I remember as a kid, we never hung around in the dark. We hung around a street light or some other kind of illumination. We wanted to see who was with us. With vandalism, the thrill is seeing the windows broken, in seeing the words written on the wall. It is no thrill to hang around in the dark".

Vandalism damage in the district was reduced from $160,000 in the late 1960's to $41,000 per year. Also, "We saved so much on utilities that our business managers and everybody else were quite impressed," says Wolf.

CALIFORNIA RESULTS

Bill Bakers, retired Associate Superintendent for the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, who pioneered an energy savings program that has saved over a million dollars per year, reports:

"We are not aware of any school districts where blacking-out campus coincided with an increase in vandalism, burglary, or arson. There has not been an increase of such incidents in our district during the hours of total blackness. It seems logical that a blackout discourages youth from entering campuses -- they have as much fear of the unknown as anyone else. In case of burglars, any light shown on a campus is cause for suspicion on the part of neighbors and police."

Don Rodriguez, former Energy Manager for Cupertino Union School District reported that vandalism decreased an additional 29% or $8,160 during 1981-82, when they instituted a dark campus policy, along with their antivandalism program, Project Pride. Project Pride rebates a percentage of the savings resulting from a decrease in projected losses due to vandalism. It also involves a variety of activities including weekly, monthly, and semiannual reports and graphs and charts on vandalism rates.

While the cause and effect between night time blackouts and a reduction in vandalism is not clear cut, no one has reported an increase in vandalism due to night time blackouts.

The Livermore Joint Unified School District has had a dark campus policy since 1974. Director of Facilities Maintenance, Rudy D'Ambra says:

    "A dark campus policy positively will not increase vandalism. This is what many people are concerned about, including the police, but it did not happen. We've noticed a slight decrease in vandalism over the years, but we have done other things too, like vandal watches and Sonitrol."

Energy Savings in his district were about ten percent after the first full year of the dark campus policy.

http://www.peninsula.wednet.edu/conservation/Energy/dark%20campus.HTM