Installing key card access has reinforced the safety barriers provided to students by the College.

The administration has been gradually phasing in a key card access program over the past five years with the goal of becoming fully key card accessible by next September. The only houses which are not currently key card accessible are Cabot, DeWolfe and Winthrop House.

"The program has been phased in because of expense," said Epps. "But it has already had a dramatic impact in decreasing the number of on-campus thefts."

Riley says Yale campus police officers came to Harvard recently to evaluate the usefulness of key card access on the Yale campus.

Yale does not have key card access yet, but relies instead on mandatory safety information presentations and pedestrian escorts, says Lieutenant Anthony Diorio of Yale University Police Department.

Riley says he shares information and policing techniques with security officials, like Diorio, from across the nation.

In an urban setting like New Haven, the emphasis is on information sessions and student-run escorts. At the more suburban Princeton campus security tends to focus on transportation options and the prevention of bike theft.

Harvard, too, faces a bike theft epidemic. Last year, 299 bikes were stolen, down slightly from 316 in 1994.

"The thing that irks me is to see bikes stolen when there are such great locks available that insure for up to $1,000," says Bicknell.

Riley says HUPD will share a database of bike thefts with Cambridge police and MIT to help catch bicycle thieves more quickly. Riley says he expects the police bike patrol will also serve as a deterrent.

Aware and Alert

The best safety advice, police say, is to stay on your guard, avoiding places where you feel unsafe and always stopping to make sure there is a cruiser or safety phone along your route.

"It's very difficult to say certain areas on campus are unsafe, because everything's relative," says Riley.

"It's an urban area and we can't predict what a predator might do in an open space at 3 or 4 in the morning if a cruiser isn't around. People need to be aware and take precautions," he says.