U. Police officers claim dept. is understaffed

Commissioner says hiring effort is underway University Police officers said last night that their department is plagued by problems of understaffing. Among other things, the officers said, these problems are affecting University Police's ability to patrol. "Some nights we'll have enough people to cover every sector, and some nights we won't," University Police officer Peggy O'Malley said last night. "It endangers the students, but it probably endangers the police officers more," she added. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said last night that about 23 officers have left the department since 1991, the year he took over as commissioner. In fact, of the 78 police officer positions currently allotted by University Police, only 71 are currently filled, two of those only just recently, Kuprevich said. He added that the department is currently in the process of hiring seven new officers to reach the maximum officer allotment. University Police officers said last night that two basic reasons explain why so many people have left the department since the last major hiring effort in 1991. An officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said many officers leave the department to work for municipalities because of the better pay and benefits offered. The officer added that University Police officers also have a negative "security guard" stigma attached to them by students and community members. Another officer, David Ball, president of the University's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said many University Police officers leave for better pay in other departments. "The reason people leave is because the pay is higher and the pensions are better in other departments," Ball said. "Officers are leaving for more traditional policing roles, where you can work x amount of years and retire." He added that University Police officers have to work for more time than officers in municipal police departments and receive fewer benefits. Kuprevich said the main reason so many officers have left the department is that they use University Police as a stepping stone to a municipal job. But, he said, University Police benefits are not necessarily any worse than those of a municipality. For one, he said, University employees and their children can get a free education at the University. Secondly, he said, although University Police officers do not have the same retirement plan as many officers in municipalities, the University's plan is nonetheless a good one. "The only area in which the officers are different from a municipality, from a contractual standpoint, is the retirement program," Kuprevich said. Ball said the other major reason so many officers leave the department is the lack of opportunity for advancement. "Presently there's no opportunity for advancement, except for sergeant and management positions, but they're all full," he said. Kuprevich said two opportunities currently exist for officers to advance. Both, he said, are through special service programs, either as an officer for Victim Support and Special Services or as an investigator in the Detective division. He added that although these jobs are limited to two years of service, there will probably be more job opportunities when the directors of both Victim Support and Public Safety are hired. Ball said the understaffing has not affected the patrolling on campus, because this area is University Police's primary jurisdiction. He added, though, that it has affected the area west of 40th Street. Ball also said University Police has been following the same patrol system since 1981. While he could not confirm this, Kuprevich said the system has not changed since he became commissioner in 1991. Many of the patrol sectors, the specific area an officer is assigned to cover, are defined strictly by geographical boundaries, Ball said. And, he added, that because University Police was once a part of the Physical Plant, these sectors are geared towards the most efficient way to lock the buildings down. "We need new ways to deploy officers," he said. A second officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said University Police has to emphasize community policing more, especially in the area west of 40th street. This would mean redefining patrol structure according to the community's needs and educating the community. Kuprevich said community police plans in the University community area are moving in the direction of higher visibility by directed patrol initiatives. He added though that he is not going to change the current patrol sectors until a Director of Public Safety has been hired. The final decisions on both a Director of Public Safety and Victim Support should be made sometime this March, Kuprevich said. He added that the seven new officers should also be hired by the end of March. "By the end of March, the seven officers should be hired and working," Kuprevich said. "At that point, if we don't lose any officers in the mean time, we should be fully staffed."