University of Central Florida students living off campus might feel a little safer now that more police patrols will be on the lookout for criminal activity.
Amid recent high-profile incidents near campus, a new partnership announced Thursday between Orange County Sheriff's Office and UCF Police aims to bolster enforcement through targeted off-campus patrol by sheriff’s office deputies. Criminal activity off campus involving drug, weapon arrests and gang activity has become an ongoing problem.
Some students said that several areas around the UCF campus are not safe.
"There's a lot of gang violence, a lot of drug activity and it's just kind of a dangerous area, especially at night," one student said.
One of the target areas is in the vicinity of the Marquee apartments, which is off campus. Both students and non-students live there. Police said there have been reports of high profile crimes from stabbings to robbery assaults. Sheriff Jerry Demings indicated that there are cases of non-UCF students who are coming into the area as well.
"In some cases, we see some of the nefarious characters will come into the area and begin to try and prey upon the students," Demings said.
The partnership between UCF Police and the sheriff's office aims to reduce crime without worrying about jurisdictional boundaries between the campus and the county. It also includes crime prevention initiatives such as Crime Free Multi-Housing, which is designed to reduce crime in apartment complexes.
UCF police and the sheriff's office will continue to work together to target underage drinking and parties in areas near campus. The agencies have cooperated mutually on this initiative since April.
"What we are working on now is a joint venture to reduce that crime and reduce that fear of crime," UCF Police Chief Richard Beary said.