The University of Georgia is pumping $7.3 million into new campus security upgrades in the wake of the vicious beating death of nursing student Laken Riley.
The influx of cash will pay for additional security cameras, a call-box system, better lighting on the grounds, motor vehicle license plate readers, and a 20% boost in the campus police budget, according to UGA Today, the Georgia school’s news outlet.
“The protection of our students, faculty and staff at the University of Georgia is always top of mind for me and our senior administration, and we are continually evaluating our safety programs,” university president Jere Morehead said in a statement.
“This morning, I met with campus law enforcement officials to learn their recommendations for further enhancements,” he said. “Every one of their recommendations was approved.”
The school said the new measures add to the $16 million spent on campus safety in the past eight years.
The upgrades include a new network of cameras and call boxes, around-the-clock security and new lighting to be installed along well-trafficked footpaths near dorms on the 760-acre campus, with nearly 400 of the lights to be converted to brighter LED technology.
“Pursuing safety is an ongoing process — it never ends,” said P. Daniel Siok, the university’s associate vice president for public safety. “But the institution’s strong commitment to that process is deep, unwavering, and long-lasting.”
The beefed-up security comes after Riley, 22, was attacked and killed while out for a run in a wooded area on campus shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The following day, police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant who federal immigration officials said entered the US illegally in 2022.
Ibarra was detained in El Paso, Texas, and released pending further immigration proceedings — and ended up working in food delivery and in a local restaurant in New York, authorities said.
The troublesome migrant was arrested by the NYPD in Queens on Aug. 31 and charged with endangering a child when cops spotted his 5-year-old stepson on Ibarra’s scooter without a helmet or restraint.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told The Post this week that Ibarra was cut loose before they could file a request to have him deported.
Ibarra later moved to Athens, Georgia, where he lived with his brother, Diego, a former worker on the University of Georgia campus, not far from where Riley was later killed.
According to a complaint filed with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the two siblings were busted at a local Walmart on Oct. 27 and charged with stealing more than $200 in merchandise, including bacon, sausages, queso fresco and some clothing and coats.
They were issued summonses and released, according to the police complaint.
Riley, a one time nanny, attended the University of Georgia until last year, when she transferred to the nearby Augusta University School of Nursing.