Students Voice Opinions About Campus Police

By Broadside Staff Writer David Pierce

The University Police Department and George Mason University students on the Fairfax campus were given a chance on Monday, Oct. 20, to express their opinions on the success or failure of each others’ roles in the Mason community.

The University Police were asked if they felt like babysitters to Mason students in regard to supervising, or if they felt like they were doing their job. Major George Ginovsky of the police department made it clear that the department was not acting as babysitters.

“We’re a nationally accredited [police] agency,” Ginovsky said. Master Police Officer Kim Taylor also believed that the department was doing its job. He also said that policing Mason campuses is like policing in any other jurisdiction, such as Fairfax City.

Students, on the other hand, were asked if they felt more arrests would make Mason a safer or scarier place.

Sophomore Derrick Wood, a communication major, believed more arrests, for the right reasons, would make the campus safer for law-abiding students, but scarier for those who want to commit crimes. Doctorate student Claudia Lemus, a multicultural education major, agreed.

“If the arrest is legitimate, then it brings credibility to the police department and makes students safer,” Lemus said.

Senior Sandeep Silwal, an accounting major, disagreed.

“More arrests would [cause the police to] abuse their power,” Silwal said. Taylor believes the department is obligated to arrest students if the crime committed warrants an arrest, citing that the police must do their duty.

A major issue conveyed by Mason students involved the police presence on campus. Wood said he has only seen the police in the parking lots.

“I think the police should be walking around; there is a lot of activity in the Johnson Center [of interest to them],” Wood said. Silwal claimed he only saw a police presence when Mason was hosting an event. Freshman Hung Do, a computer science major, believed the police had a good presence on campus.

“You see [the police] where you least expect it,” Do said.

Ginovsky pointed out the police are the most visible while they are in their police vehicles, but also noted they have foot patrols on campus. Taylor added that the department has bike patrols, plain clothes officers and cameras in buildings throughout the campus to keep the Mason community safe.

Both Taylor and Ginovsky believe Mason is a safe community. All of the students interviewed felt safe on campus, too.

“I’ve never seen anything happen here,” Lemus said. Some students, however, were concerned after an Oct. 17 assault on a female student near the loading dock of Student Union Building II. Wood felt safe on campus, but believed another assault could happen, especially on the popular wooded pathway between the Center for the Arts Building and Parking Lot K.

Taylor advised students to be aware of their surroundings to increase their safety.

“Be vigilant; crime is here,” Taylor said. He suggested that it wasn’t only the job of the police to make Mason a safe community, but that students also need to take reasonable steps for their own safety, such as not leaving valuables unattended and locking dorm and car doors. He said most of the crimes on campus are crimes of opportunity that otherwise wouldn’t happen if students followed his advice.

The police and students were shown crime statistics from the police department’s 2008 Annual Security Report. The report showed statistics such as 280 liquor law arrests in 2007 at the Fairfax campus, down from 534 in 2006. There were no reported liquor law arrests at the Arlington, Prince William or Loudoun campuses in either year.

“Students shouldn’t be surprised [at the findings],” Ginovsky said, adding “[Fairfax] is a residential campus.” Taylor, while agreeing with Ginovsky, also said a higher attendance at the main campus accounts for the differences.

“[The Fairfax campus] is like a city,” said Taylor of the population. Wood attributed the high crime numbers with his view of a lack of police presence on the Fairfax campus.

“[They should] put officers where the people are,” Wood said. Junior Candice Nazaroff, an accounting major, believed comparing the statistics to the other Mason campuses was unfair towards the police due to the Fairfax campus being the only one with dorms.

“[Comparing them] is like apples and oranges,” Nazaroff said, adding that comparing the figures to other area colleges with dorms would provide a more accurate view of the situation. When asked about how the police protected students from crime, Ginovsky commended his department.

“[The University Police] are doing a good job of protecting our lives, property and enforcing the law,” Ginovsky said, adding that these actions are done with the objective of making Mason a safe campus. He believed, like with any organization, there is room for improvement, and that the department is open to suggestions.

“We are constantly looking for a way to improve [our] service,” said Ginovsky.