New detectives bring experience to University Police

Several former Philadelphia Police detectives working on the University force said the settings are quite similar. When asked how his job with University Police differs from his old one with the Philadelphia Police Department, Detective Joseph Hasara explained he only notices one real difference -- "the name on the paycheck." And his colleague, Detective Frank DeMeo -- also a city veteran -- agreed, noting that "there really isn't a difference between working in a city and working at a university." With the hiring of Hasara, DeMeo and two more detectives last summer, the Division of Public Safety doubled the investigative unit's size, adding an experienced group of investigators and distributing the unit's caseload -- 1,670 in 1994 -- more effectively. And although Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush has not yet begun to search for a replacement for Investigative Unit Supervisor Mike Carroll, who was dismissed in October, the colorful cast of detectives said they are doing just fine, particularly in their relations with the Philadelphia Police Department. "It used to be that there were a lot of closed doors," said Detective Gary Heller, citing his colleagues' "wealth of experience" and extensive contacts with the city police department. In fact, several current University Police detectives, such as Patricia Brennan -- who led the investigation into the 1994 murder of Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed -- left the Philadelphia Homicide division. "It's a different type of work environment than I'm used to," Brennan said, despite the fact that in her short time at the University she has already assisted her old department with investigations into the stabbing death of University biochemist Vladimir Sled and the shooting of College senior Patrick Leroy. In addition to doubling the unit's size, Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon's master security plan calls for revamping the unit's case screening and case management systems. The detectives say that much of this new system has been implemented successfully, as they no longer must sift through case files and investigate each and every incident reported to University Police. In the past, Detective John Peterson explained, "a bag of potato chips taken from Wawa held the same weight as a $20,000 robbery." The unit's modernized case screening system -- principally the work of Detective Peggy O'Malley -- also allows the detectives to spend more time undercover on the streets around campus. The detectives asked The Daily Pennsylvanian not to photograph them for this article in order to maintain their undercover status. Hasara, for example, was driving on Sansom Street last Friday when he witnessed a robbery in progress in front of King's Court/ English House. He notified headquarters, and within minutes, University Police had chased down and arrested three suspects a few blocks away. And Heller noted that "you're not bogged down as much with trivial things." "You're spending time on things that are really important," he added. Although the detectives are kept busy by University cases, several of the investigators recalled the excitement of big cases from their early years with the Philadelphia Police Department. Detective William Danks related the tale of a man who burned down an apartment building in 1977. Danks tracked the suspect to a local psychiatric ward, but the hospital staff denied Danks access to the suspect, who had checked himself into the facility. Frustrated, Danks left the hospital, only to return after receiving news that the man had set fire to the building. The detectives pointed to cases like these to explain their devotion to their professions. Many said they refuse to take examinations for departmental promotions because they enjoy their jobs so much. "If you're riding around a four-square-block area 10 times a day, you have a tendency to get a little bored sometimes," said DeMeo. The detectives are also looking forward to moving into the new Public Safety headquarters at 40th and Chestnut streets later this September. The detectives currently share a tight third-floor room in the department's Superblock headquarters, although all eight are usually not present in the building at the same time. "It's the one thing we agree on," Brennan said of the lack of space.

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