Posted on 02/17/2008 6:01:38 AM PST by billakay
First, it should be noted that all the information in this article was gathered about an hour ago because it took a week before anyone from the University Police Department would concede to our requests and talk with us. And also, this paragraph is being written at 6 PM, and the article will be finished before class at 6:30. So if it seems kind of half assed, it definitely is. There were a couple aspects of our University's law enforcement and operations that Jamie and I, Anthony, wanted to address and question. These include among other things; the aggressive and systematic ticketing policy that yielded about $160,000 in revenue during 2007, according to BU Police Chief Klinger; the department's choice of vehicles- two Ford Expeditions and one Explorer; the fact that 17 out of the 18 commissioned officers carry .40 caliber hand guns; whether or not the perpetrators of the two attacks last semester were ever found; and the question of how much of our tuition goes to funding the department.
I met earlier today with Chief Klinger and found some but not all of the information we were looking for. The annual operating budget- meaning this doesn't include salaries and wages and additional revenue- of the BUPD is $36,000 paid for by a combination of tuition and university and state taxes. A ridiculous fraction of 16% of the budget, about $6,000 goes toward maintaining uniforms according to Klinger, $4,500 goes to radio equipment, and the rest pays for various things like software, firearms, training and vehicle upkeep. "We really struggle on the budget" said Klinger.
About $160,000 in revenue is collected annually by the BUPD from parking violations. $145,000 of this pays the wages of the three dispatchers, and four "security officers who monitor parking"- two during the day and two during the night. The other $15,000 goes towards the operating budget mentioned earlier. That's kind of disturbing that we have a merciless ticketing system that exists only because it tickets mercilessly. It's not like they're an authority figure that says "We don't want to penalize you, and wouldn't have to if you only followed the rules." If every student parked according to "policy," "security officers who monitor parking" could not survive.
As far as the vehicles go, Klinger told me that SUVs are imperative because the "northeast Pennsylvania" weather requires four wheel drive. Also, noted Assistant Director Matthew Phelan, the large vehicles are necessary to hold First Aid kits that are "about this big" Phelan said stretching out his arms and showing a space of maybe five feet. Apparently the SUVs are also needed because the police occasionally have to transport the injured and sick from campus to the hospital. All of these reasons for choosing SUVs are justified- to an extent. 2007 Ford Expeditions have a fuel efficiency of 13 mpg city/ 19 mpg highway. 2007 Ford Explorers have a fuel efficiency of 14 mpg city/ 20 mpg highway. We aren't sure what year the BUPD's vehicles are so let's say that they get the above mentioned gas mileage. That's a horrible waste of money, regardless of whose money it is and especially when these vehicles are being driven around campus mindlessly during the almost constant state of tranquility at Bloomsburg. The 2007 Subaru Outback has a fuel efficiency of 23 mpg city/ 28 mpg highway and offers almost all of same features as the Explorer and Expedition- plenty of cargo space, four wheel drive, and the ability to transport a person laying down.
17 out of the 18 commissioned officers carry .40 caliber handguns, and began to do so with overwhelming support from the student government after 9/11 said Klinger. The department would like to get rifles, said Klinger, in case of a "Virginia Tech incident" or a situation where a "sniper starts shooting from a roof." It is reasonable and justified to the University police to have access to guns and, in the unlikely event of a "Virginia Tech incident," a rifle. But if the ultimate goal is peace and non-violence, then the regular presence of guns by anyone including police is counterproductive. As an alternative: in the extremely unlikely event of a student/ or random shooter taking over Bloomsburg, then the town police- who will always carry and have access to firearms, are less than a quarter-mile off campus, and the BUPD could have access to firearms and be able to deal with the situation just as efficiently as they could if they carried weapons.
And lastly, Klinger said that "2007 was good year, we caught people who were breaking into cars on campus," but they never caught the person who fired a shot out of a crowd of 300 between the Kher Union and Scranton Commons, and they never caught the perpetrators of the two muggings last semester. Finding these people would be extremely difficult, we understand. And the BUPD is not doing a bad job; crime and danger are virtually nonexistent at Bloomsburg. However, the ways of authority must always be questioned.
How long did it take the campus cops and/or the local LE to get to the scene? Keep in mind that anything over 15 seconds is far too long when people's lives are in danger. An armed student body could have deterred the incident before it happened or could have taken the person down long before security would have been notified.
My thoughts exactly.
Oh crap! What an unbelievably naive thing to say.
If the "ultimate goal is peace", that can be achieved by "overwhelmingly superior firepower". In the case of a "gun free zone", a sling shot will do.
(Si vis pacem, para bellum.)
Regards,
GtG
Response time should be measured from the first time someone wishes there was a cop nearby, not when they finally fumble 911 into a phone.
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