Student safety patrol has made very few changes to its program this year.
The main responsibilities for the patrol include looking for any crimes being committed, suspicious activity or safety hazards, such as smoke coming from a building or alarms going off, Sgt. Alex Davis said.
“They are basically an extra pair of eyes and ears for us,” he said.
Davis said the student patrol works Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., depending on the weather. Two teams of two employees patrol each shift.
He said their job is primarily to observe and report crimes, not to interfere, as they have no police power.
Student patrol also checks the emergency phones on campus to make sure the lights are working, the number pad and instructions are legible and they check to make sure the phones are working correctly.
They can also be called upon to give verbal and written statements to the police and to testify in court as witnesses to a crime.
Student patrol members are given security vests for identification, a flashlight and a radio to keep in direct contact with the University police. They must also undergo training on radio etiquette, locations and boundaries and what to do in the case of suspicious people and suspected criminal activity.
“This year there are about six students on patrol,” Davis said. “But we want about 10 to be involved.”
He said students who want to work for the patrol should come to the police station and pick up an application and an information packet. In addition, the Smith Career Center posted the job openings on its Web site.
“The position is paid a little more than minimum wage,” Davis said.
The program hasn’t undergone many changes this year. However, Davis said he has made a few adjustments.
“I promoted one of the student patrollers to an assistant coordinator who basically helps me plan everything,” he said.
He said this coordinator is the person in charge of the other patrollers.
Also, this year the patrol has decided to focus more on the neighborhoods surrounding Bradley rather than campus specifically, Davis said. This is mainly because of the problems Bradley has recently been having with the neighborhood association.
“Some students have expressed interest in shortening the hours so the patrol ends at 2 a.m. because not much goes on after that,” he said. “But we haven’t made any changes to the schedule yet.”
Davis said the patrol hasn’t made any big results so far, to his knowledge.
“I think the fact that they wear vests that clearly define them as student patrol deters their chances to catch crimes,” he said. “It’s just like when people see a police officer. If they are doing anything wrong they will stop when they see a law enforcement official nearby.”
