In the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting that took place on Sept. 30 there was one senator who voiced concern with the amount of hit and runs in student parking lots that have occurred this year so far.
Since some of the student parking lots have been expanded in terms of spaces for vehicles, there has only been one reported hit and run in comparison to in 2015 in which there were five that were reported to the Longwood University Police Department (LUPD), according to Col. Robert Beach, chief of police.
In particular, the Cox parking lot that is designated for commuter students has been expanded in terms of the parking spaces themselves which has ultimately taken away some of the spaces.
“What I’m assuming what’s happening, students are having their cars bumped and not calling the police or not letting us know about it,” said Beach.
There are several offences that can occur on private property that are subject to be charged criminally that fall sunder the traffic code which includes hit and runs.
Therefore, Beach felt that when a student takes note of damage on their vehicle to call LUPD in order for a report to be filed in order to identify possible suspects in the crime.
In some instances where the student has moved the vehicle to another location and not taken note of the damage on the car the solvability to the crime gets increasingly lower as time passes, according to Beach.
“(LUPD) we are pretty good at identifying who did what and getting it handled,” added Beach.
As for advice that Beach is giving to students is to take note of the surrounding cars when students are parking which ultimately can help the police take note of the timeline in which the incident may have occurred.
“(By students) making just that mental note might give us some evidence and information when we do come to look at it,” said Beach in regard to calling LUPD when damage is noticed, regardless of the timeframe in which it has occurred.
In preparation for the debate, Beach discloses that LUPD is placing more security cameras in parking lots, which may also help in the investigation when and if more hit and runs occur in the future, according to Beach.
“If you find that there has been some sort of damage or something that has happened, don’t move the car, call the police, allow us to come and start investigation,” said Beach.
Another problem Beach felt happens with students is when students try to repair the damages as a result of a hit and run through the use of car insurance, many students find that insurance will not cover the cost of the damage unless a police report has been filed.
“(The) solvability factor really reduced at that type of report,” said Beach in regard to filling a report after much time has passed.
If the cost of the deductible from the insurance company is higher in amount than the damage that calling the police will make the process smoother if a report is filed by police immediately. Ultimately, this will help prevent that situation in the first place, according to Beach.
