VCU news

By Mike Porter

VCU Police Chief John Venuti will answer questions about larceny prevention, personal safety and crime and safety communication during a Twitter Town Hall online chat next week.

The Twitter Town Hall will take place for 30 minutes, beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5. The conversation will start an hour after VCU’s first test of the emergency alerting systems in the new academic year.

Having a conversation through Twitter provides VCU police and emergency preparedness officials with an opportunity to engage with the campus community through a platform popular with students.

“We are looking to engage people where they are and not force them to come to us,” said Adam Crowe, director of emergency preparedness at VCU. “It’s a good way to gauge community interest in a social media conversation with the campus community.”

Crowe said additional Twitter Town Halls focusing on safety and emergency preparedness are possible throughout the school year. 

To participate, Twitter users need to include the hashtag #VCUtownhall when posting their question.

Chief Venuti said social media is part of the department’s communications strategy, which includes an active presence on Facebook and Twitter. The Twitter Town Hall gives police another opportunity to interact with students. 

“I love hearing the students' perspectives,” said Venuti. "We always walk away from opportunities like these with better ideas on how to address issues as well as provide better service to students."

VCU Police also participated in a number of Welcome Week activities to reach new students, including delivering safety talks and helping students to register their bicycles and laptops. Officers also passed out T-shirts, sunglasses and cups with the safety message “See Something Shady- Call VCU Police at 828-1234” during the Student Organization and Volunteer Opportunities fair.

Police also recently teamed up with men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart on a new larceny prevention video, which will be shown at 46 upcoming residence hall safety talks and is available on the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department homepage.