University Police help keep peace on campus

By Bryan Foti
Public safety is an issue that people in the community talk about. Law enforcement agencies in Plattsburgh work very hard to keep the citizens safe.
SUNY Plattsburgh starts classes late in August and ends the academic year in middle of May. The job of the University Police is to keep the peace on campus. Arlene Sabo has been the Chief of University Police at SUNY Plattsburgh since 2001.
She says the main difference between campus police and non-campus police is that “societies, parents, students, place a higher expectation of safety upon educational institutions versus the general areas around the college.”
She says the main reason that there is a higher expectation of campus police, is because parents are sending their precious children to the campus with the expectation they will be safe and can develop educationally without interruptions or hazards. Sabo uses an example when she explains that if a car gets broken into off campus the person will probably not call the mayor to complain but it is not uncommon for a parent to call and complain if that crime would happen on campus.
Sabo thinks the Plattsburgh community sees the University Police in more of a helping role. The University Police has a suicide prevention program to help people that are in distress. Another program that station offers is a behavior assessment committee. The program was started in response to the Virginia Tech incident where a gunman shot and killed 32 people and wounded many others back in 2007. The committee investigates concerns of students regarding the behavior of fellow students, which may be questionable.
The University Police has to handle crimes that take place on campus. Jerry Lottie is the assistant chief at University Police at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Lottie has plenty of experience he has worked as a campus police officer for 24 years. He has held the positions of UP officer, UP lieutenant and UP investigator.
Lottie says there are two shifts of duty for officers daily. The day shift and the night shift. During the day shift, officers get a mix of service reports and some criminal reports. The night shift is when most crimes occur.
He says “the top three crimes we get here at Plattsburgh are petty larceny, alcohol, and marijuana offenses. There are numerous noise ordinances issued.”
Lottie thinks there are peak times when most crimes are committed. The first being the first weekend the students are back at school. The second the weekend right before thanksgiving break. The third right before spring break.
Lottie has mixed opinions about the campus to community relations he says “the Campus City Coalition is working very hard to enhance the relationship between the students and the city.”
Sabo describes college students as “good individuals that are here to better themselves. They show this through the community service they do and only a small minority of students commits crimes.”
University Police go through an extensive amount of training that teaches them how to keep students safe. Most of the training takes place during the summer months because there are not as many students on campus.
In addition to the University Police Plattsburgh, students may also deal with City Police in Plattsburgh.
Scott Beebie is a Lieutenant for the City Police. He thinks the main difference between University Police and the city police are that the City Police’s primary focus is the enforcement of New York State law and local municipal law.
The top three crimes in the city were different from the crimes being committed on campus. The top three were property crimes, harassment or assault and alcohol offensives related with driving.
Beebie does not believe that crime goes down when the University students go home for summer and winter break because all the young people of Plattsburgh who were away at school come home and the community size is roughly the same.
“During the school year we keep a close watch on Broad, Brinkerhoff, Court, and Couch Street because there is a lot of foot traffic in a small confined area” Beebie says.
The city police shifts are from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. The police cover a lot of things and Beebie says there is no such thing as a typical day.
He says “you cannot predict anything we just respond to the call when it comes in.”
The city police go through rigorous preparation, and they take the mandatory state certified police academy course that lasts for 22 weeks. From this point, officers when they pass the academy, will be on probation for a year and this is the point where you “sink or swim” Beebie says.
Police also go through specialty training as well. Examples are internet fraud and investigating. Beebie feels the Plattsburgh Police are very good at keeping up to date.
Fire Safety is a big concern as well. Lottie is a big advocate of fire safety.
“As a society we do not view fire as that important” he says.
Lottie thinks that most students over look fire safety when they are looking into off campus apartments. The students will not check for fire exits and see if the building has a fire extinguisher.
Dan Pond is a volunteer fire fighter in Somers, NY and is a senior at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Pond says, “Fire safety starts with fire prevention. You have to be proactive rather than reactive to it. It is critical to be aware of the potential risks involved with fire.”
Pond thinks that the off campus houses meet the bare minimum of requirements. “They pass the code but who actually knows if they are safe and will work in an emergency.”
Pond thinks an escape plan is a good thing to have but says it is very difficult to coordinate because everyone’s schedule is different.
Pond believes it is smart to keep clothes away from heaters. He thinks that people should not over use power outlets. He also advises not to use candles in the house.
Jesse Dambrackas won the Vermont volunteer fire fighter of the year award in 2008. He is a freshman at SUNY Plattsburgh. He believes that smoke detectors have to work and should be tested every month.
Dambrackas says, “You rarely see smoke detectors in off campus housing because they are either covered or unplugged because most people smoke in the house.”
Public safety law enforcement does a good job keeping the community safe. Fire safety is a big priority among the police as well.