Police have new "adopt-a-hall" program, help student relations

The SRU campus police have launched a brand new initiative this year, a campaign called Adopt-A-Hall.  

The program is a further attempt by SRU police to dispel some of the fear students have of the police.

The officers are making themselves more open and available to the public in an effort to make students more comfortable around the officers.

The goals of the new Adopt-A-Hall program include "[Building] a forum to share new ideas and perspectives that will allow us to address mutual concerns," according to an official pamphlet produced by the SRU Police Department.

What this means for students living in residence halls is that there will be an increased police presence in the lobby of each building.  

Each officer is adopting a building and it will be part of their routine to regularly visit the residence hall and spend time there.

The pamphlet states they expect that through this program "Officers… [will] build relationships with students and ultimately create a strong partnership between SRU PD officers…and Residence Life staff."

The motivation behind the program is that because the officers are easily accessible, any questions, comments or concerns students may have concerning the police force can be easily addressed.

Furthermore, if a student needs any assistance, an officer will be nearby to help with everything from answering questions to more serious situations.

While this program seems very innocent, some students have expressed serious concerns regarding the two-week-old program.

A senior currently living on campus, who wishes to remain anonymous, is worried about the effect the new program will have on students.

"I heard the police were trying to sync their visiting time up with the Happy Bus so they could catch drunken kids," the senior said. "Secondly, we already have cameras and CAs patrolling the halls, I don't see the point in a police presence. It's not welcome, it's scary."

While some students fear the potential for a "big brother" atmosphere, others have applauded the initiative.  

Senior physical education major Maria Krafty, 20, has served as a CA (community assistant) for the past three years.

"I think it provides students with a measure of safety that they just didn't have before," Krafty said."I think having an officer come into the halls and get to know the CAs and GAs (graduate assistants) will help the communication gap between Res-life staff and campus police, ultimately improving the quality of life."   

In the future, Chief Simmons of the SRU Police Department hopes to create more initiatives to give his police force a more active and positive role in the community.

"We have a meeting with Res-life on the 19th of this month and community oriented policing helps put our officers in a positive light," Simmons said. "This initiative is the next stop in our community-oriented policing."

Currently there is a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program tentatively scheduled for Nov. 4th and 5th and the student community can expect more changes to come in the future for the SRU PD-student relationship.