photo by Matt Nemeth
Standing mere feet from Lawrence Hall and the Student Center, the halfway house at 339 Boulevard of the Allies was the site of a convicted felon breakout on Sept 25.
A convict escaped from the Renewal halfway house on Boulevard of the Allies for a half-hour before being caught on Sept. 25. No warning was issued by the University and nothing about it was mentioned in the official crime log.
According to the Jeanne Cleary Disclosure of Campus Security and Crime Statistics Act, which was passed by Congress in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a Lehigh University student who was not told there was a missing fugitive, every university that accepts Federal aid must keep a log of all crimes and allow students to examine it.
This is also not the first time that people have escaped from Renewal facilities. Edwin Wylie-Biggs escaped from a halfway house that forced Clairton schools into a lockdown in 2012. Four people escaped from a different Renewal center on Second Avenue on Aug. 6, 2013 as well.
Lou Corsaro, the Managing Director of University Marketing and Public Relations, spoke on behalf of Chief Jeffrey Besong of the Point Park Police. He said there was no mention of the incident because there was no threat to student safety.
He said that even though Pittsburgh Police did not send any information, there was no issue because the person was confined to a building off-campus, and Pittsburgh Police executed an arrest warrant. He also stated that PointALERTs are sent out on a case-by-case basis with the safety of students, faculty, and staff as top priority.
“Careful consideration is made before sending PointALERTs out so that people treat them with the serious consideration they deserve,” Corsaro said in an email interview on Sept. 30.
Blaine King, Parliamentarian of United Student Government (USG), feels that the PointALERT system worked exactly as it should have on Oct. 2 when Point Park students were notified that an armed robbery occurred at the Smithfield News, less than a block from the Student Center. However, he was concerned with the fact that no alert was sent on the Sept. 25 escape.
“There was a threat to the students and staff because the man escaped a halfway house that is not too far from our campus and we didn’t know what he could have done or [what he might have] had on him,” King said in an email interview on Oct. 2.
King believed that Pittsburgh Police should have sent information to Point Park and that Point Park Police should have sent a PointALERT. He was mainly concerned for the student body in order for them to be aware of situations like this. However, he wanted to emphasize that he does think PointALERT is a good tool for students to use.
“PointALERT, to me, is a great system to keep students informed of any crimes happening around the area of our campus,” King said.
Julian Singleton, President of USG, believes that a timely notification would have been a good idea, as it establishes trust between students and campus police. He believes that things of this nature can get misconstrued very quickly. However, he also does not doubt the capabilities of Chief Besong and the Point Park Police.
“I have faith in our Point Park officers.Chief Besong is a capable individual with more than enough accreditation and experience to decide if the situation is worth bringing attention to the student population,” Singleton said in an email interview on Oct. 6.
Keith Paylo, Dean of Students, also expressed his faith in Renewal and how they handle their inmates.
“We have not had any incidents with Renewal since I’ve been Dean,” Paylo said in an interview on Oct. 6. “They do a pretty good job in controlling those who are part of their program.”
Students and staff can sign up for PointALERT by going to the school’s homepage, typing “PointALERT” in the search bar, and following the links on that page.
