BALTIMORE (NewsNation) — As crime rates increase in cities across America, some schools are looking for additional solutions to enhance campus security measures.
Morgan State University in Baltimore may soon be getting a major security overhaul.
The university’s president announced earlier this week that the school plans to ask the Maryland State Legislature for $22 million to pay for security upgrades.
Nearly $6.5 million of those funds would be used to build a new security wall. It would be an extension, adding one and a half miles of walls around 90% of the campus.
The request comes after a campus shooting earlier this month shook the university community.
Students hunkered down for about four hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects who shot and wounded five people, including four students, following a homecoming week celebration.
“The wall would effectively eliminate unfettered access,” Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson said.
The Baltimore Police Department released these photos of the persons of interest in the shooting, yet no arrests have been made. All of the victims have been released from the hospital.
“The wall is good for stranger violence, and it’s good for funneling and kind of controlling people going in. But if the attacker is someone you know or expected to be there or someone that doesn’t raise an eyebrow for them to show up, the wall isn’t going to stop them,” Retired FBI special agent Dr. Gregory Vecchi said.
Security walls and barbed wire fencing around college campuses are not a novelty concept. Perimeter protection is considered the first line of defense.
Fordham University’s main campus, which sits in the heart of the Bronx — New York City’s borough with the highest violent crime rate — is surrounded by iron and chain link gates as well as large stone walls to help keep the criminal element from invading the campus.
A recently released Fordham Public Safety report showed an increase in criminal incidents between 2021 and 2022. The increase includes cases of burglary, vehicle thefts, rapes, drug abuse violations and weapons possessions.
The most commonly reported crimes on campuses are burglaries, rapes and motor vehicle thefts. And with the emergence of gun violence on school campuses, securing points of entry has become crucial to help keep schools safe.
“Are walls good? Yes. Are walls going to prevent a predator who is welcomed and who can walk in regardless? Probably not. You have to take a look at your vulnerabilities,” Veechi said.
As some experts agree that a wall can help discourage some crimes, they say it’s not a cure-all.
