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The Rice Thresher
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Space will provide a police base in the south colleges, near Main St. by SUSAN ABRAMSKI FOR THE THRESHER Pending approval by the Board of Trustees, the Campus Police plan to have a new police workstation built this summer in the Lovett College Commons. Chief of Police William Taylor said the police department wants a facility in Lovett so officers can be more accessible to south college students. "That is the whole point in having college officers to begin with, to have that presence there and ready accessibility and ability to respond," he said. "We know that having a place where an officer can sit and write a report, make a telephone call, do follow-ups, and do those kinds of things helps a lot. It also gives a place where officers and students can meet and talk." Outgoing Lovett President Bryan Hassin said a workstation would eliminate the need for police officers to leave the college area in order to file a report at the police headquarters. "Criminal activity tends to be bursty, and so if you have to file a report for one thing, it is more likely that something is going to follow suit very soon there after," Hassin said. He said a workstation would also give the police a location visible from Main Street. "Lovett College is right at one of the main gates coming into the campus," Taylor said. "And for that reason, perceptually, if nothing else, it is more vulnerable to intrusions from the outside." Even though the facility will not function as a permanently manned guard station, the increased visibility of the police department will be beneficial as a crime deterrent, Taylor said. Lovett Chief Justice Jonathan Borck said the police approached the Lovett government with the idea late last fall. The Ad Hoc Committee for the Construction of a RUPD Workstation was appointed and began exploring logistics and student concerns about the project. Borck, chair of the committee, explained that the workstation will be constructed in the outer commons where recessed double doors now stand. A wall with a door leading outside will be built flush with the outer wall, and the double doors will be replaced by sliding glass doors. When the sliding doors are open, students will be free to use the space for studying or for access outside. "It will be an area that will be open all during the day and hopefully most of the time at night so that students can sit in there on the couches and work, but could be closed off if the police officer needs to make a phone call, or file a report, or interview someone about a crime," Borck said. Borck said that the plans for the workstation are directed by Facilities and Engineering architect Luiza Maal. If the Board of Trustees approves the plans, construction should begin over the summer and be completed before freshmen arrive for Orientation Week. Hassin said that Lovett Masters Spike Gildea and Bonny Tibbitts recommended the workstation based on their experience as resident associates at Jones College, where a police workstation already exists. But Borck said the Jones facility is more of a traditional office than what is planned for Lovett. "The idea that we have is simply to have a desk with a computer terminal there," Borck said. "It will basically just involve a desk, a computer, a chair and a small filing cabinet. It's not going to be an office. ... There is one at Jones, but we see ours as being quite different. It won't be used as much. "Tentatively, the chief and the committee have both agreed that the workstation area would remain Lovett college space, and that if the Lovett college government at any time in the future were interested in reclaiming the space, we could," Borck said. "In other words, the workstation is on loan to the police." Taylor supports the students' decision to maintain ultimate ownership of the space. "They can change their minds if they find it to be intrusive, if it's not working, if it's not providing a service to them," he said. "It's got to be beneficial. We are truly their guests." According to Hassin, students were initially concerned about the increased presence of officers in the college setting. Students were particularly concerned that violations of the alcohol policy would be more visible to the police. "After talking to the police, they really said very strongly that they would continue to act the way they always have," Hassin said. "I have a great deal of confidence that the symbiosis, if you will, will be a happy one." Taylor said the police department is sensitive to the students' concerns. "We're not out there to trap people or catch them," Taylor said. "The idea with this operation in the colleges is to provide services to them and to be available to help them in very quick order." Taylor said the students' concerns actually came into play when selecting a location for the workstation. Another possible location was abandoned, because it situated the officers such that they would be watching the Lovett balconies. "That doesn't serve a purpose if people feeling like the officers are watching them," Taylor said. "What we want to watch is the front entry way where we can see people coming in, both students and non-students." Taylor said. - back -
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