Security gates will be installed near the University Courtyard entrance in hopes of curtailing the recent robbery trend.

A series of crimes at the University Courtyard apartments this semester prompted police officials and the complex’s management to consider security changes that police say should be in place by the end of April.

Students were victims of four robberies near the apartment complex this semester, a problem police say a gate restricting entry, and 24-hour video cameras, would help solve because the easy in-and-out set up entices criminals.

“[Criminals] will be less likely to commit a crime because there’s only one way in and one way out,” said Maj. Jay Gruber, commander of the technology services bureau of the University Police Department of Public Safety. Gruber said police suggested the security changes to the complex’s management, Ambling Companies Inc.

Gruber said he is confident the gates and video cameras will help thwart criminals and increase chances of catching them.

Police officials told The Diamondback earlier this semester that the complex’s proximity to high-speed roads, such as University Boulevard, and surrounding areas with crime problems also make the area more susceptible to criminal activity.

The gate will be on the entrance off Greenmead Drive, where at least one student was robbed earlier this year, and will close at night. Shuttle buses and public safety officials will have garage-door-type remotes that will provide them access to the gate at night.

Gruber said they installed eight cameras, but are waiting for more equipment before they can be fully operational. They should be ready in about a week.

Seven cameras are on top of blue-light phones and one is on the leasing office building. Police will monitor the cameras.

Following a daytime robbery March 11, University Police reinstituted the Robbery Suppression Team, a group of undercover officers who patrol and talk with people to make sure they belong in the area; Gruber said these patrols will continue.

Gruber said installing the cameras and gates will cost about $25,000. He said university officials are still in talks with the complex’s management to decide who will pay for the security upgrades.