Spring Break
Police department adds officers as new dorms built
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News
02/27/08 - The new dorms on campus have been steadily increasing the amount of student residents, and in some upperclassman dorms, triple-occupant rooms will become a reality.
So, are the University of Rhode Island Police and Security forces keeping up?
Robert Drapeau, director of security at URI, said during the past five years, campus police numbers have increased from 17 sworn, unarmed officers to 26 officers. During the same period, security officers went from 13 to 8 officers.
"We have made a commitment to professionalize the police department and move forward," Drapeau said. "We are focusing more on our law enforcement personnel, but in addition to that, we have upgraded our communications with TV cameras, more blue light phones ... and an emergency notification system."
A few officers, who agreed to speak off the record for fear of reprimand, disagreed with Drapeau and said there is not enough staff on the payroll to sufficiently patrol the campus and ensure the safety of the residential student body.
"There wasn't enough staff [before], and now we just lost four people," one long-time veteran of the campus police force said. "They just put in three new dorms, no new cops."
The officer said there has been a general decrease in staff in his department during the years he has been on the force.
Maj. Stephen Baker of the University Police said that since his installment three years ago, there has always been a minimum of two officers patrolling with a supervisor, but on average there are three officers on patrol.
"If we go under our minimum, we hire overtime, or sometimes we force people to stay over," Baker said. "Those numbers are what we consider minimum. I'd like to have more but we have several officers that aren't here at the moment."
Baker said out of the 26 sworn officers, three of them are not currently on the work schedule. One of his officers is serving in Iraq and another just took a job somewhere else. He also said that the department will be looking for new officers in the near future.
Baker added that the presence of bicycle police patrolling the campus is dependent on either the individual or the weather.
Drapeau said certain events, such as the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University, infer to the public sphere that his organization needs more staff and funds. He said this might be true, but admitted that getting funding is always easier said than done.
"We are part of the academic experience here, and it's a balancing act," he said. "And the way the state budgets are today, well, I'm happy with the way we have been moving in the past few years."
While some in the police ranks feel that the budget for the police force is not keeping up with the demand created by increased enrollment, Drapeau said they are moving slowly but surely.
He also pointed out that if there was a situation such as the shootings at Virginia Tech or Northern Illinois, the South Kingstown Police station is only five minutes down the road.
So, are the University of Rhode Island Police and Security forces keeping up?
Robert Drapeau, director of security at URI, said during the past five years, campus police numbers have increased from 17 sworn, unarmed officers to 26 officers. During the same period, security officers went from 13 to 8 officers.
"We have made a commitment to professionalize the police department and move forward," Drapeau said. "We are focusing more on our law enforcement personnel, but in addition to that, we have upgraded our communications with TV cameras, more blue light phones ... and an emergency notification system."
A few officers, who agreed to speak off the record for fear of reprimand, disagreed with Drapeau and said there is not enough staff on the payroll to sufficiently patrol the campus and ensure the safety of the residential student body.
"There wasn't enough staff [before], and now we just lost four people," one long-time veteran of the campus police force said. "They just put in three new dorms, no new cops."
The officer said there has been a general decrease in staff in his department during the years he has been on the force.
Maj. Stephen Baker of the University Police said that since his installment three years ago, there has always been a minimum of two officers patrolling with a supervisor, but on average there are three officers on patrol.
"If we go under our minimum, we hire overtime, or sometimes we force people to stay over," Baker said. "Those numbers are what we consider minimum. I'd like to have more but we have several officers that aren't here at the moment."
Baker said out of the 26 sworn officers, three of them are not currently on the work schedule. One of his officers is serving in Iraq and another just took a job somewhere else. He also said that the department will be looking for new officers in the near future.
Baker added that the presence of bicycle police patrolling the campus is dependent on either the individual or the weather.
Drapeau said certain events, such as the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University, infer to the public sphere that his organization needs more staff and funds. He said this might be true, but admitted that getting funding is always easier said than done.
"We are part of the academic experience here, and it's a balancing act," he said. "And the way the state budgets are today, well, I'm happy with the way we have been moving in the past few years."
While some in the police ranks feel that the budget for the police force is not keeping up with the demand created by increased enrollment, Drapeau said they are moving slowly but surely.
He also pointed out that if there was a situation such as the shootings at Virginia Tech or Northern Illinois, the South Kingstown Police station is only five minutes down the road.
