Public Safety officers volunteer for community policing effort in colleges

In a proactive community policing effort, volunteers from Public Safety are working closely with each of the residential colleges and the Graduate College this semester.

Initiated last year by Wilson College Master Miguel Centeno, and continued by Public Safety officer and volunteer Jim Lanzi, the Adopt-A-PUPS program involves six proctors and security officers.

"I felt that students and proctors didn't know each other very well, and that relations between the two could, perhaps, improve if they started to become acquainted," Centeno said.

Members of the policing effort work at their respective colleges before and after their normal police or proctor shifts or in free time during shifts with the permission of their supervisor. Participants in the program are paid overtime wages.

So far, the officers have helped students register bikes and have answered specific questions within the colleges. Officers also have been invited to eat meals at the colleges to meet students and discuss any security concerns.

"The initiative is meant to establish a firmer dialogue between students and Public Safety, not to replace the normal report and procedure of the department," Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser said.

Weiser said there is a growing interest already this year among both student groups and members of Public Safety to increase community outreach efforts.

The Third World Center has invited a member of the program to come and discuss campus security and to meet with a smaller group of students. Several additional members of Public Safety also have expressed interest in participating in the community policing effort.

Tuesday, members of the program will meet with college masters and University administrators to discuss how to increase the role of the program.

"It is too early to tell the effects of the program," Weiser said. "Bike theft is still high, but most bikes are not yet registered."

Similar community policing programs are under way in both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. Within the Township, police have "targeted more densely populated areas and areas with lower quality of life," Township Police Capt. Peter Savalli said. "We are sending out surveys and trying to build relationships and partnerships with the community, to prevent problems and head them off when they arise."