Interview with David Heffer About Recent Hate Crime

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The following is the transcript of an email interview between Neve Levinson and David Heffer, the Director of Public Safety. The responses were received after the publication deadline for the previous article about the most recent hate crime on campus.

NHL: What is the procedure for reporting hate crimes, both to Public Safety and to relevant state enforcement agencies?

We ask that all crimes be reported to the Office of Public Safety at  410-337-6111 or the Baltimore County Police Department at 911. An officer will be sent to the location of the crime and perform various types of follow up including threat mitigation, ifapplicable, and investgatory procedures.  

NHL: When was the graffiti removed?

DH: The graffiti was removed immediately after the Baltimore County Police Department processed the scene for evidence.

NHL: What measures are Public Safety and BCPD taking (as per protocol and otherwise) to investigate the incident as well as supporting affected students and communities?

DH: The Office of Public Safety is working with the dean of Students office as well as Residential life to assist in supporting the students directly impacted by the crime. The Offie of Public Safety is working closely with County Police and other outside partners in order to conduct as thorough an investigation as possible.  

NHL: What is the procedure for notifying the entire campus of incidents related to hate?

DH: We typically notify the campus via email and/or through the e2campus notification system. We also report those crimes to the Department of Education and the crimes are recorded in our Annual Security Report.

NHL: Is there any known connection between this event and previous hate crimes on campus?

DH: We believe at this time that the graffiti hate crimes in previous years are likely related to this crime.

Neve Levinson is a senior majoring in Spanish and American Studies. They enjoy playing frisbee (go Gophers!), reading the news, and learning about peacebuilding processes around the world. As an Editor-in-Chief of The Quindecim, they want to publish stories about topics that matter to our community. What other pieces of news need to be covered? Want to write about it? (Or just tell them about it?) Email Neve at nelev001@mail.goucher.edu.

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