... a Public Safety officer

As I approached the Public Safety fortress at 200 Elm Street to begin my "day in the life" assignment, I was beset with understandable trepidation. I've had a few run-ins with Public Safety over my three years at Princeton, and I'd have to say that my primary feelings about them had come to be fear, distrust and aversion. After meeting several members of Public Safety and shadowing Patrolman Paul Krzewinski for a day, however, I have a much better conception of how much Public Safety contributes to our campus experience. I realize now that despite what most students think, the officers are not malevolent, bent on ruining our parties, but rather a full service police department that takes its duties very seriously. All Public Safety officers have been through the Police Academy, and they are actually commissioned police officers in the state of New Jersey. There are surprisingly few officers given the size of the campus, and Nuttall says that this small size leads to a remarkable cohesion and sense of camaraderie among the officers. Based on what I saw, that seems to indeed be the case. I certainly have a much clearer understanding of what Public Safety actually does now, and I have to say that my earlier distrust has been replaced with respect. As a patrolling officer, Krzewinski has a mix of widely varying duties, and as he puts it, "Every day is a little different."

3:00 p.m.: Krzewinski arrives at 200 Elm St. and reports to his shift supervisor, Lieutenant Gary Nuttall, who briefs him and the other officers on the day's events. Nuttall then assigns Krzewinski to a car and sends him off to patrol.

3:30 p.m.: As part of the Community Policing Initiative, Krzewinski meets with USG representatives to discuss a program which involves taking abandoned bicycles out of the Public Safety impound, fixing them up and selling them to students at a sizeable discount. Details of the plan are fleshed out, and the USG reps warmly thank Krzewinski for acting as Public Safety's ambassador on this project.

4:30 p.m.: Krzewinski takes the squad car over to the Princeton Borough Court, where he is scheduled to appear at a minor-in-possession court date. The unfortunate tippler pleads guilty, the prosecutor confers with Krzewinski and no testimony is needed.

6:00 p.m.: Weary and thirsty, Krzewinski stops at the Wawa for coffee. He buys an extra, which I am told is for "the Chief," Deputy Director Charles Davall. Apparently power comes with perks in the Public Safety hierarchy.

6:30 p.m.: Now fully caffeinated, Krzewinski tickets three cars. I later find out that one of them is my preceptor's and laugh heartily and gleefully.

7:00 p.m.: The dispatcher informs Krzewinski that a complaint has been phoned in about a stolen bike. He goes to the student's room and questions him about the bike's last known whereabouts. The student is surprisingly emotional and waves his cut bike lock around in agitation. Krzewinski believes that this theft fits into a recent wave of bicycle burglary carried out by unscrupulous robbers with bolt cutters. He informs the student of the ongoing investigation into these thefts and tells him that he will be notified should the bike turn up. The student continues to wring his hands and shake his ruined lock. We all know that the bike has probably been stripped and sold for parts by now, but no one wants to say it.

10:00 p.m.: Krzewinski investigates a noise complaint in Foulke Hall, which turns out not to be a party but just some very loud sober people. They quiet down immediately when they see his handcuffs.

10:30 p.m.: Mountains of paper work confront Krzewinski. Everything he does needs to be reported in triplicate, and every offense he records has a specific and dauntingly lengthy form. He describes to me the red pen marks that will inevitably soon cover his reports. I commiserate.

11:00 p.m.: Done for the day, he hands over the car's keys to Nuttall back at Public Safety headquarters. Krzewinski loosens his tie with a palpable air of relief and resumes civilian life until 3:00 p.m. the next day.