In the past two weeks, there has been a burglary and an act of vandalism on campus property, according Longwood University Police Department (LUPD) Chief Col. Robert Beach.
“There was a burglary of the northwest landings,” Beach said. “We made an arrest and recovered some of the property.”
Per the LUPD crime log, the burglary happened on Sept. 2.
On Sept. 1, according to the crime log, the Longwood baseball field was vandalized.
“Somebody climbed over the baseball field and cut the backstop padding that had the (Longwood) Lancer logo on it,” said Beach.
The investigation is pending with no suspects and LUPD is interviewing witnesses in order to find out who committed the vandalism, according to Beach.
"(It's) an ongoing investigation,” said Beach.
On Aug. 29 there was an arrest at Sharp Hall, per the crime log. The suspect was arrested for “threaten to burn, assault and battery family member, Capias Failure to appear warrants were from other jurisdiction,” although the alleged incidents did not occur on Longwood University’s property.
“That was a warrant from another jurisdiction (Chesterfield),” Beach said. “They were visiting students and we came in contact with them and in check in (in Sharpe Hall) we found there was an outstanding warrant for them.”
According to Beach no Longwood students were injured and no Longwood property was damaged during the incident.
Longwood University is also using the LiveSafe app system, which allows students to speak directly to the dispatch office if they have concerns, per Beach.
“(Students) are able to live chat with a dispatch office and our people,” said Beach.
Beach said The university has seen an increase in the app’s use.
“I encourage them (students) to consider the LiveSafe app for their smart phones or for their device,” said Beach. “We’ve had almost a 200 percent increase in the number of LiveSafe app and it has so many great features.”
The LiveSafe app is free and students can report anonymously if they choose, according to Beach.
“You can do it anonymously or tell us who you are,” Beach said.
The primary purpose of the app, according to Beach, is to provide another resource for students to report concerns.
Jordi Sacra, a sophomore nursing major said that the LiveSafe app helps students feel safe on campus.
"It even has the option to message the police if it isn’t safe enough to make a call which I feel is very useful for situations that tend to occur on college campuses," said Sacra.
Beach said students need to remain alert and report if they see anything odd.
“There’s a number of different resources on it, one of which is the ability to live, real-time chat... But the fact is that is that seeing something and saying something is important," said Beach.
Sacra said that there were many resources that helped with campus safety.
"It allows you to call or silently message Farmville police or LUPD, shows you a map of all the emergency blue lights, gives emergency tips, allows you to request a campus escort, and it has a function where a friend can 'watch you walk' so if you feel unsafe a friend can be on their app and see if you make it home okay and if you let go of the button they’ll call the police," said Sacra.
On Sept. 1, the Longwood baseball field was vandalized in that someone stole the backstop padding that had the Longwood Lancer logo on it.
