UGA to spend $8.5 million on campus security improvements

“As president of the University of Georgia, I have no higher priority than the health and safety of our campus community—students, faculty, staff, and the many alumni and other visitors who come here each year for programs and events,” UGA President Jere W. Morehead said in a statement Tuesday. “I care deeply about their well-being. While no university can ever guarantee individual safety or a complete lack of crime on campus or in the local community, my administration is committed to doing all that is within our power to help keep our community safe.”

UGA this month, according to police reports online, has investigated a weapon on school grounds, robberies, and on Oct. 16, a sexual battery complaint at Sanford Stadium when Georgia Bulldogs beat the Kentucky Wildcats. UGA police have received several other complaints this month of sexual violence on campus, but the alleged victims declined to talk to police, according to the online reports.

In recent years, UGA said it has spent more than $5.7 million on security cameras, campus lighting and other safety measures. Off campus, the university said it has assigned an officer to focus on the safety of those traveling to and from downtown in the early morning hours.