By Christine McCarthy
WACO- A string of robberies last fall left Baylor University Police Department scrambling for manpower to patrol the troubled area near the west side of campus.
"We were worried. We didn't like it one bit," said Baylor Chief Jim Doak.
Baylor students recalled on Thursday how nervous the entire campus was following at least nine area robberies. Some of the attacks were armed and three of the victims were Baylor students.
"I was a little worried, especially if they happened in the daylight, to be walking with my backpack with my computer in it," said graduate student Angela Douglass.
Student Corinthian Wesley shared the same apprehension, saying she and her friend were "worrying about if we were safe. So now me and all my friends, we travel in groups."
So the Baylor Police Department called Paladin Security and Investigation and hired the armed firm to help patrol the streets.
"Our stated goal was to absolutely inundate the area with uniforms and let folks know who had any thought of doing something questionable or commit a crime, they have a good chance of being identified very quickly," Doak said.
Inundate they did, and students began noticing.
"Honestly, like every five seconds you'd see a patrol car or like Paladin driving around," sophomore Alan Murphy said.
The McLennan County Sheriff's Office also helped man the streets and Waco Police lent officers and an old SWAT truck, revamped with surveillance video cameras for neighborhood watch.
Since the beginning of December, crime has quieted down. According to Doak, no robberies have been reported in two and a half months.
"It makes me feel great because they're really taking care of it," said student Heather Burns, "and they understand the severity of it, and that it's scary for students."
The extra security comes at a higher price for the department but Chief Doak doesn't mind.
"We haven't concerned ourselves terribly with what the cost is," he said, "because you have something far more valued at stake, and that's students' peace of mind."
Students all around campus are thankful that Baylor PD has taken campus-area crime seriously.
"You think, like on the Baylor campus, that you would be safe, and it's nice that they've re-established that, Burns said.
