UNIVERSITY POLICE A LONG WAY FROM NIGHT WATCHMAN IN 1960s

Across the country, the face of law enforcement is changing. It is becoming more professional, more specialized and more aggressive.

Southeast Missouri State University Police department is no exception. Drawing its roots from a single, part-time night watchman position created in the mid-1960s, the department is now 15 officers strong, with a support staff of 29.

"Our size has grown with the needs of the university," said Doug Richards, director of public safety and transportation at the university.

"We're just like any other police agency," Richards said. "Our officers carry a full gun belt, can make arrests and can write citations."

This year a law was passed allowing state-funded universities to commission their own officers, rather than having them commissioned through a city, county or state agency. Prior to the passage of the Missouri law, only the University of Missouri-Columbia commissioned its own officers.

For years, the officers at the university have been commissioned through the city of Cape Girardeau.

Another law which greatly enhanced campus policing was the 1990 Student Right To Know federal crime bill, Richards said.

"It required certain types of campus crime to be reported and to be made available to the students, their parents and the general public," Richards said. "But Southeast has been exceeding those requirements since 1987.

"What the law did was put universities in the position where they could no longer get by with no policing," he said.

Richards said that in recent months, the university police have received many requests from other university departments just getting started, for copies of its service manual and annual report.

"Our officers carry out normal, every day police functions," Richards said. "Our major objective is to protect persons and property of this university."

Since university police officers are commissioned through the city of Cape Girardeau, all major reports logged by the university are reported to the city, and will appear on the city police summary.

"Under the new commission status of the university, we could have a situation where the city police would not come on to university property for investigations and we would handle it all," Richards said. "But the city calls upon us for backup from time to time and we call on them it's the kind of relationship our departments have."

The university has 10 part-time reserve officers, all of which are full-time Cape Girardeau city police officers.

The university police is structured like any other department with a chief, sergeants and regular patrol officers. There is also one investigator who looks more closely into cases requiring follow up.

The police headquarters has no holding facility. If an arrest were necessary, the prisoner would be transported to the Cape City Jail for booking.

All university police officers are paid by the state of Missouri, as are all other employees of the university.

If a student on the university calls 911 to report a police emergency, the call is forwarded to the university police from the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Under the new E-911 system to be initiated coutywide this fall, there is a major possibility the university would be included in the network, Richards said. "But for now, the university phone system has a 2-911 which is extremely effective."

The university police are members of the regional Major Case Squad and all its officers surpass minimum officer training standards.

Richards said that for the amount of crimes reported on the university campus, 15 officers is an adequate staff.

"Right now I feel we can provide quality service to the university and its students," Richards said.

"Nationwide, crime on campus has been a problem," Richards said. "But Southeast Missouri State University has been very fortunate that we have been able to stay in the lower third of nationwide university crime statistics."

Richards attributes that fact to the visible police presence on the campus and to the quality of students at the university.

To further emphasize a police presence on and around the university, police have recently purchased two new Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars.

"We needed them," Richards said. "In two years, we can put 80,000-90,000 miles on a car. If we can get 2-3 years out of a car, we consider ourselves very fortunate."

Another means the university police are using to heighten awareness about their department and campus crime, is a new crime prevention program which will start in the fall.

"The officers will do programs on crime prevention and safety awareness around the university and throughout the region served by the university," Richards said.

When a situation develops on the university where uniformed patrolmen would be somewhat ineffective, officers will patrol the campus on foot in plainclothes.

"You're never going to eliminate crime completely," Richards said. "Our goal is to take away the opportunity of a person to hurt or steal and to minimize the chances of anyone becoming a victim.

"We feel good about our record," he said. "The students that attend this university are here to learn; we want only to enhance that ability with a safe environment."