Cal State Long Beach’s University Police will be making some changes next semester with a push toward more community oriented policing and environment-friendly technology.
To reassure the campus community, the University Police will increase police visibility by having their officers patrol on bicycles over the summer, said Stan Skipworth, chief of the University Police.
Another reason for having more bicycle-patrolling officers is to encourage people on campus to use alternative means of transportation.
Already officers have been through a Californian police officer bicycle patrol course to prepare them for this less traditional means of patrolling. University Police will also be developing bicycle safety programs and making bicycle equipment available on campus to encourage bicycle use.
There will also be an increase of building checks and meetings with students and faculty by the officers, Skipworth said.
Part of the goal of community oriented policing would be to have officers “being out there and being more familiar,” Skipworth said.
The University Police will also use T3 vehicles, battery-powered mobile units for officer patrolling. The three-wheeled, one-person vehicles were previously used for administrative errands.
Another change planned by the University Police is to make more information available on their website, Skipworth said.
California State University Chancellor, Charles Reed, asked CSU presidents to have their campus police perform school shooting drills during the 2008 spring semester.
On April 4, for the structured and active school shooting drill, the University Police worked in conjunction with CSULB departments, the Red Cross, and Long Beach fire and police departments in performing the drill.
What made this drill different from previous ones was the different organizations involved in it and that it was performed in the afternoon, said Fernando Solorzano, captain of the University Police. Previous school shooting drills were performed at night.
Other changes include a larger role in communicating with students and campus personnel through mass e-mails, Skipworth said. The University Police also reemphasized their campus e-mail to the pubic, which resulted in people providing them with helpful ideas regarding their April 4 school shooting drill.
“The feedback from the community is critically important to us,” Skipworth said.
The University Police will continue other programs including the Community Services Officer program, the escort service program, and self-defense classes, such as the Rape Aggression Defense System.