URBANA — While the proliferation of cameras watching our every move is hardly an attractive idea to most Americans, police on the University of Illinois campus say they are another tool to help them keep the peace.

UI police Lt. Skip Frost said the cameras are just one of a number of steps his department has taken in the last year to make the UI a safer place to live, study and work for students and staff.

And in the last month, the cameras have helped solve a burglary in progress at Forbes Hall in Champaign and the theft of electronic equipment at the Illini Union in Urbana.

"Even when the camera doesn't come up with crystal-clear pictures, they do assist in other ways," Frost said. "With Forbes, we were able to use the cameras to establish if the people responsible had left the building."

In that case, three men were arrested Aug. 25 and charged with residential burglary for stealing from rooms while students slept about 4:20 a.m.

In the Union, police got still photos off a video surveillance camera showing two people who stole an iPad from the Flash Drive store on Sept. 2. Only one of the suspects, a 15-year-old girl, has been identified, according to Sgt. Tom Geis. Police continue to investigate that crime.

"This kind of stuff is helping us solve crimes," Geis said.

Frost said the number of cameras has skyrocketed from about 30 last fall to more than 500 campuswide that are now online. In addition to helping police identify suspects, Frost said, police hope they deter crime before it happens.

It was about this time last year that there was a spike in the number of aggravated batteries in the campus area, mostly by groups of several young men preying on one or two, often intoxicated, men as they walked home from campus bars.

So far, that behavior has not repeated itself, Frost said.

"It's been relatively quiet, and we're very happy about that. This time last year, we were seeing some unfortunate crimes again persons. We're not seeing a lot of armed robberies and the ridiculous batteries. We normally see thefts. And we still have the typical alcohol-fueled idiocy outside bars," he said.

Frost said UI and Champaign police are also cracking down on aggressive panhandlers in the Campustown business district.

"We've been very active in getting out and walking to increase visibility, not only at night between the overlap of shifts, but we've been working with Champaign police on aggressive panhandling during the day, what we call the lunchtime detail," he said. "We have received positive feedback from business owners."

Frost said other things UI police have done to make campus safer include:

— Increase the number of patrol officers. Six recent hires have completed formal training and are now on patrol with field training officers, bringing the number of sworn officers to 60.

The department is authorized to have 63 and will be hiring another three officers soon.

— A greater emphasis on crime prevention. In March, two officers were certified in crime prevention at a program at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and should now be able to do security surveys of campus buildings.

Since most victims of robberies and batteries on campus are men, the police department will pilot a "Resisting Aggression with Defense" (RAD) course for men this fall. These will be in addition to Rape Aggression Defense Systems courses offered for women.

— Student Patrol, SafeWalks and Sentinels. Student patrol officers will provide walking escorts on campus between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday) for people who have to walk alone.

Thanks to a donation from the Moms Association, the department has purchased two electric "Sentinels" at a cost of about $9,000 each. The three-wheeled, battery-operated carts have lights, sirens and a loud speaker and are ideal for getting in and out of small spaces. They are for use by patrol and student patrol officers.

"Those have proven beneficial," Frost said. "Last weekend we got a DUI arrest on one and also a couple of subjects who fled were located by two officers on the Sentinels."

"The feedback from the students is great. They love these things because they're different. People definitely notice them rolling down the street or sidewalk," said Frost, adding the department plans to train more officers in their use.

— Security officers in the residence halls. As a result of a collaborative effort between the police department and housing, seven full-time security officers are patrolling the common areas inside and outside at the UI residence halls starting this semester.

— An improved emergency notification system. Called "Illini-Alert," the system uses texts, email, Web alerts, Twitter and Facebook to disseminate simultaneous messages during a campus emergency.