Posted: 4/21/2009 5:41:38 PM EDT
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OK gents I made a slight career change. I left the local town PD and went over to the local college PD. Much slower pace, having a bit of trouble adjusting. I consider myself one of the 5% officers who love interdiction, digging up crime, and generally getting into stuff. The town I was in was your standard ghetto-creep southern town, with more and more gangs moving in, rampant crack distribution, and plenty of stuff to stir up. I've still been able to get into plenty of dope cases here at the school, it's just a completely different crowd. The college is a private, all-male, high-tuition liberal arts school in VA, and was raided by DEA in 2007 (I helped serve one of the search warrants for that raid) to bust up a sizable narcotics distribution ring. This school is known for wild parties, drunken debauchery, high DUI rate, lots of public intoxication, etc. Plenty of opportunity for standard 'street crimes' style work, if I can play it off right.
Basically, I'm looking for any tips in how to keep my focus, maintain my skills, and stay satisfied in this environment for the next few years. I've been really focusing on the dope, as it's ripe for the picking. I'm also looking at revitalizing the bike patrol they've got here, as a means to run up on more of the stuff I'm hunting, as opposed to vehicle patrol. The campus is very pedestrian-oriented, with lots of expansive lawns and plenty of secluded buildings. Any tips on surviving and thriving in this environment would be greatly appreciated, as it's definitely a change. |
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College PDs will never be turned into a Sheriff's Office or Municipality PD. They serve totally different missions. In all reality you're making their stats look bad. 99% of Admin love to suck up to other Admin, more so in a college environment. It's an uphill battle that will never be won, don't ask me how I know. Your best bet is to keep plugging along with things that satisfy you in your job, if other officers want to follow then that is great too.
Contact other college PDs and see what kind of bike program they have, it serves college campuses well. Good luck! |
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A suggestion or two. Think proactive, come up with programs that dissuade the crooks from coming to your place while keeping up the image that this is the place to be for the good people. For example, a college department started a requirement to register all bikes on campus. IMHO, this was an anti-theft measure, done on the same general principles of the anti-terrorism that I learned in the Navy. By registering the bikes, they reduce the marketability of stolen bikes. The thieves learn that there is little value to coming to campus to steal bikes so they therefore go someplace else.
Now, that's just my impression of the program; I do not know if I am right or wrong, but it is one possible approach. However, be aware that even programs with good intentions can be received negatively by a community. College aged cyclists, in my observation, tend to act like the traffic code does not apply to them.......and I would imagine that a registration requirement could be similarly received. Most colleges operate in the same general ballpark. People have to want to come there for the college to make money and the college that does not make money has a decent chance of failing, or at the very least, having its functions and staff reduced. Long story short, expect to wear the kid gloves a lot. This might be an oppurtunity to work on one's diplomatic skills such as learning the in's and out's of how to communicate and coordinate between various police departments. There can be a lot of bad with a college job; I could tell horror stories at working at a military college as I am sure others can tell similar. If you want, the horror stories can be told so at least one knows about the possibilities to try to work out an answer ahead of time. But that's the basic thing, don't dwell on the bad, of how it might be an unrealistic world one is in, but rather, think ahead, try to find ways to make it work for the better. ______________________________________________________________________ ("The analysis said it was a C4 compound. Is there anyone here with that kind of experience?"––Columbo "I'm sure you can find some, Lieutenant. We are, after all, a military school."––Colonel Lyle C. Rumford, (w,stte), "By Dawn's Early Light") |
| I don't think you'll lose your edge or anything. You'll just adapt to applying the same skills in new ways. To keep yourself centered, you could check out training or CE classes (tuition discount, even if it is lib arts?) in broad fields like cpr/first aid or basic fire operations. |
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A private school is a different world, largely dependent on the administrators, the chief and their working relationship. Higher Education agencies tend to be used as a stepping stone or 2nd retirement. There are usually a handful of go getters who are there for a reason (family, age, etc.). But many officers who stay in such a political, limited LE environ aren't go getters like you and don't rock the boat, even if they know it's needed. Some Hi Ed agencies break this mold, but not many, IME. Their relationship with local LE, their issued equipment and training schedule should be tell tale signs of how seriously they and the school take their job. Liberal Arts school... man, did you want the deck stacked against you for the type of work you enjoy? lol
I'm sure a lot of what they want you to focus on is property security such as buildings and thefts. Compared to a muni agency, you'll probably have a lot more time to make contacts and investigate. Use those patrols and that time to make contacts... dorm staff, custodians, responsible students, etc. They can be your eyes and ears, along with internet social network sites. Financial crime, fake ID manufacturing, drugs, theft of college property, etc. College kids get in trouble around town but are more often afraid of the Dean of Students than getting arrested. Have the DoS on board with what you're doing, have local LE notify you/DoS if they deal with your students. You'll help local LE have an effect, and you'll have better intel on their possible criminal involvement on campus. You CAN have such an effect in your little community such that you shift a lot of criminal activity elsewhere. As for skills, focus, satisfaction... any FTO program? How about Crime Prevention? Any training/professional development you now have time for? Become an instructor? Start your own business on the side? lol |
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Quoted:.......College kids get in trouble around town but are more often afraid of the Dean of Students than getting arrested. Have the DoS on board with what you're doing, have local LE notify you/DoS if they deal with your students. You'll help local LE have an effect, and you'll have better intel on their possible criminal involvement on campus......
Okay, time for one of those horror stories. Military student takes a header out of a window. His roommate finds a note and gives it to his squad leader...who gives it to the platoon sgt.....who gives it to the platoon leader.... who gives it to the company XO....who gives it to the Company CO...who gives it to the Brigade Adjutant...who gives it to the Brigade CO...who gives it to the Regiment Adjutant...who gives it to the Regiment CO...who gives it to the "Tac" Officer.....who is holding it in their hand as the Special Investigatons Agent is trying to pry it from him so they can bag and isolate it. The point it that in a university setting, frat, military, or otherwise, how the world is interpreted can be vastly different from the "normal" world. This was a case of almost everyone doing what they were suppose to do in their own little world with an affair that is outside their world. The good thing about this setup is that a lot of discipline and related problems can be handled at this level without having to go to the magistrate. The potentially not so good thing is that it might be referred to this level even though might wish it to be handled by the magistrate.....although, when one thinks about, the latter is not necessarily a unique situation (administrative proceedings in an agency could be another example). There are at least two other potentials to be aware of as well, IMHO. First of all, given the "we take care of our own", the law may not be aware of things that are going on, at least not thru normal channels. Secondly, a possibility that since their misdeeds are handled internally, that if they do cross the major line, they might not realize the implications of it.....but I am just speculating here for I cannot readily recall such a major, minor is something else, situation that I came across. _______________________________________________________________ ("Your English girls would not do such."––"Tiger", Japan SIS chief, commenting about the women bathing 007 "I think I might find one or two."––Bond "Your Miss Moneypenny perhaps?" 007 looks up slightly startled, "We have our sources, too, Bondsan, just like you.", (w,stte), "You Only Live Twice") |
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I too am like you in that I went from a town PD to the local college PD. I took the job because it was a substantial pay raise and it was also a state job. I was not sure what to expect when I got here but I found out that the new Chief was very proactive and stands behind us. I came about five months after the new Chief and in the past three years have seen this department go from one that had limited training and equipment to probably the most equipped department of it's size. Our oldest car is a 2004, they are all equipped with LED lights, MDT's, etc and everyone has a 870 and AR15 in them. We are also allowed to carry personally owned rifles if they are approved by myself or the patrol Lt.
As far as skills I learned that we do not answer as many dispatched calls as say a town department. But if I looked around I found more than enough crime to keep me busy and my skills up but you have to look for it. I am also a bike patrol officer and that is one of the best ways to roll up on stuff in-progress. I have encountered B&E's of vehicles and buildings while on my bike that I probably would have never seen from a patrol car so I highly recommend a bike program. The past 2.5yr I have been working as a detective and come to realize that we have a good sized drug problem that is mostly students. In the past two years the largest drug busts in the county have originated from my campus with some of the students making weekly trips to Atlanta, Charlotte, and other large city's and bringing back sizeable amounts of cocaine, marijuana, mushrooms, LSD, etc. We even had one student who was about to set up a ecstasy lab and a family that had a large indoor marijuana grow that was in three different counties here and another location in FL. This is just the highlights, PM me if you have anymore questions. |
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Gentlemen (And Snowleopard)
Thanks for the quick and thorough replies. I expected a bit of rash about campus mall cops but I'm glad to know there's plenty of opportunites here. I've been here almost a month and I've put my hands on more dope here than in 6 months in town. I worked in the local town where all these kids go for shopping, entertainment, etc. I have an excellent working relationship with the local PD and SO, as well as their narcotics and investigations staff. I've definitely noticed the 'Kid gloves' aspect of college policing, and how involved the Dean of Students and other administrators are. I've heard some horror stories about writing checks to stay in school, etc, but haven't heard of any experiences where admin tries to get in the way of a criminal case - only influence the college side of stuff. Luckily, I'm an alumni of this school so that might shield me from a bit of the bullshit - I can always drop that card when shit hits the fan. We'll see. Western I'll definitely be PM'ing you, especially since you're so close. |
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I worked for a city PD for 6 years. Left and worked for a private university PD for 5 years. Now back with a smaller city PD a year now. As a campus cop, you will be called upon to unlock professor's doors, to check a professor's doors to see if they left their coffee maker on, to respond to a dorm room for a clogged up toilet, jump start cars, unlock car doors, provide escorts to able-bodied lazy ass coeds that don't want to walk, etc, etc. Also, when you have a criminal case against a student, your chief will want you to handle it in-house/administratively whenever possible.
Yes, you are a police officer, but staff/faculty will look at you as a second-rate LEO/security guard. I lasted 5 years since I adopted the "security guard" mentality after my 1st year there. Get used to parents of snotty nosed students calling your chief and bitching about you doing your job too. Campus PD is a more political/ass kissing environment too, at least at my former dept. Good luck to you. I'll never go back. |
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I did the campus thing (as a student so I got $6.50 an hour for doing what the fulltimers got $20(yes it was a long time ago). I see it as any other cop job. Meaning 1)It is what you make of it. and B)It has its unique hazards (physical, political and moral). One of the fulltimers was burnt out didn't care just biding his time to retirement. I was proactive(lots of foot patrols etc), got to know the kids (being a student did help) and the staff and did my job. Did I get grief from some of the housing staff because I did things they did not like/or to their friends? Sure. It is eased the same way you deal with threatening to arrest a County Commissioner for the County you are a Deputy for––-Have your ducks in a row and document the shit out of everything.
As far as the whole unlock doors, coffee pots etc. Yep, but please tell me the cop job where you don't have stupid shit? When I went from the college to the SO a supervisor with ego issues was giving me shit about opening doors etc. Then he got dispatched to sheep on the high way. My comment––-gee glad I don't have to do stupid shit as an honest to god real cop. In front of two shifts. So enjoy, learn the lay of the land, like you would at any new agency and avoid the co-eds at all costs. Trust me it ain't worth it. |