Improving Community through Campus Police

By Broadside Contributor Scott Mason

Spring is in the air here at George Mason University. It rains often, but the overabundant number of daffodils on campus shows that the dreary days are making their effects known, and even that the earth is rooting for it’s patriots.

With all of this relatively great weather, as compared to the rest of the year, it disappoints me to see Mason’s police officers going through their beat in their cars.
While I hold no grudge against the department, it is merely a trend across the country. It seems that the age of community policing has gone by.

Even on my high school’s campus, the resource officers are often seen riding through campus in their patrol cars instead of walking or interacting with the student population. Why make such a big deal about police officers utilizing their cars? It is more a sociological issue and public relations problem than anything.

Our university does a wonderful job selling itself to prospective students, government agencies, and grants and private trustees, but it has a problem on the ground level . . . many students are dissatisfied with the quality of community here.

Many feel as though university officials and administrators sit in their ivory towers, looking down upon the student population. How can policing help? As children, we are constantly reminded that police officers are here to “serve and protect.” They are often the most visible form of government available to the average citizen, and the power windows of a car and the extravagance of a Segway often provide an awkward, uncomfortable and unapproachable barrier.

These modern tools of crime prevention, while they serve their purpose, also function as just another tower from which the university looks down upon students. And, as many students believe, university personnel, because of this perceived barrier, are disinterested, disconnected and disgusted with the student community.

While some may counter this with the services that Mason Police provides, such as escort services and their willingness to come to speak to student organizations at functions, if you want to improve your image or the way you are viewed, it is crucial that you operate on your target population’s level.

The relations will improve, and possibly dramatically shift, if an officer stops and talks to students while on their beat, not just as a routine job requirement but a clear, enjoyable, habitual action that occurs as a primary function. Students are more willing to talk than most people in American society, and conversations will abound if seeded correctly.

It is a simple task and can be employed with almost instant, far-reaching success.
Some may be scared that this will place the police in compromising positions; if they befriend the student population they might not correct their crimes or injustices.

But the cost of distance and security has been, for a time now, resentment and disdain among students. In the ideas and thoughts behind many social theories, this is the kindling to an insurgency, a great uprising or crisis beginning with a student population that feels as though their grievances are unheard and their actions are oppressed.

The terms and comments that flow through my peers’ conversations when referring to Mason Police are absolutely disheartening. It pains me to hear law enforcement being torn apart and slandered the way they are. I fear that unless something is done to improve this situation, a scenario may transpire where police control and protection are essential to safety and students may ignore or refuse to cooperate with the officers.

The primary concern in this situation is a disgruntled student population, who feels as though their tuition, concerns and happiness are ignored. They hear stories from their friends at other universities where officers walk Greek rows and residence halls, keeping the peace and conversing with students, and then they wonder what happened. Mason Police are uniquely positioned to hear the voice of the students.

They patrol the campus and ensure our safety, why not place them closer to the base of our concerns?

It makes a world of difference to be approached in person on a frequent unfretted basis, instead of only being confronted when something bad has happened. This way, students won’t just remember the moments when they got in trouble or made a mistake, but also the times they talked to and understood Mason Police.