Campus Safety Chief John Ojeisekhoba and his crew of officers put on equipment in preparation for the active shooter drill held on Wednesday, August 14. The drill coordinated with SWAT and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to prepare officers for any situation. The increased security in chapel is part of Ojeisekhoba's plan to make Biola as safe as possible. | Courtesy of Campus Safety [file photo]

The campus crime rate for the last year, the lowest at Biola in at least the past 10 years, is the result of an increased officer presence on campus, frequent technological updates and investment in surveillance equipment, according to Campus Safety Chief John Ojeisekhoba.

When Ojeisekhoba began his job as chief four and a half years ago, officers would sit in the office for hours at a time while on duty, he said. However, now officers are not allowed in the office for extended periods of time. This increases the number of Campus Safety officers around campus at any given moment.

“Presence on the field really helps response time and serves as a deterrent to bad guys,” Ojeisekhoba said.

NO LONGER AN EASY TARGET

Biola had a reputation of being an easy target for criminals six or seven years ago, Ojeisekhoba said. Campus Safety set out to change this by ensuring that every encounter they have with suspicious person is an unpleasant one, Ojeisekhoba explained. Officers take down information about the person or arrest them and hand them over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Ojeisekhoba said that he hopes that the criminals will spread word to their friends so that crime gravitates away from Biola.

In 2003, Campus Safety received reports of 18 cars stolen. However, since 2010, only one car theft has been reported, according to a Campus Safety crime data report.

An additional strategy playing into the increased safety levels are the frequent texts, calls and emails implemented by Campus Safety, Ojeisekhoba said.

“Biola has gotten safer over the past years. Now Campus Safety is more active. [They are] really active with emails and school wide updates. I feel like I am always connected,” junior business administration major Alex Kincade said.

Additional contributing factors of the increase in safety are the guardhouses, the 140 cameras on campus which have been added throughout the years and the fences installed on east and west campus, said Ojeisekhoba.

“All of this takes strategy. You can have 100 or 200 people assigned to protect your property, but if you do not have a strategy it will not work,” Ojeisekhoba said.

TRAINED OFFICERS EASE STUDENTS MINDS

Currently there is an officer trained by the police academy on campus 80 percent of the time,  but the goal is for there to be an academy-trained officer on campus at all times by two years from now, Ojeisekhoba said. Students notice the higher level of security on campus and feel safer as a result, said junior elementary education major Rebekah Schlick.

“They are everywhere. It is really comforting knowing there is always an officer, not just a campus safety trained officer [at Biola], but a policeman trained by the police academy,” Schlick said.

Chief Ojeisekhoba is a key component to Biola students’ feelings of security, said junior biblical and theological studies major Megan Mann.

“I have heard a lot from Chief O and how he cares for the students, and how [Campus Safety] protects us,” Mann said.