Starting in the last few months, the UConn Police Department has increased unprovoked presence within dorm buildings on campus. These officers have been seen walking the halls of the buildings at all hours of the day and speaking with residents on their floors. When approached, some officers make contact with residents, while others do not converse.
As more students and staff notice the increased presence, there have been questions about the change. Students feel there is no reason for this to happen, and many aren’t aware of the situation at all.
UCPD has been rumored to be bringing back community officers, however, there has been little communication with residents and professional staff about this change. While speaking with different people at UCPD, no consistent answer was provided. Once, I was told this was a normal event that has always happened. Another time, I was told this is an old program that is being brought back. Finally, I reached out to speak to the administration of UCPD to get answers to what was going on and was told there is a new chief program called the Police Park, Walk and Talk Program. This program is supposedly going to have police more present and visible on campus, with the goal of making the campus safer. UCPD believes that if police are proactive with the community, it will build mutual respect and trust. Despite the focus on respect and trust, this program has not been talked about before and no one seems to have heard about it. We have been told multiple different stories as to why police are more present in the buildings, but a statement has not seemed to go out yet.
In this polarizing time in our country, the increase of police presence can make students understandably uneasy. With the noticeable upticks in on campus police presence and the state of our current political environment, many may find themselves nervous, rather than finding comfort in the increased police presence.
There have been multiple instances of theft on campus, and with the Clery Act, we get notified of crimes via our emails. We also have access to an updated Crime Log on UCPD’s website. While we are aware of theft on campus, increased police presence with no explanation causes concern for students and staff. Police presence has been seen at all hours of the day—even at night on the weekends. When one officer was asked why he was in the buildings late at night on a weekend, he said he was doing normal rounds the UCPD has always done, but he prefers to do his indoors on all the floors. The officer also noted that they do rounds to build community with residents, yet some officers do not speak to students and walk by silently without a smile.
Action without explanation is concerning, and people on campus should be aware of these new programs, especially if police are going to be in dorm buildings for anything besides calls made to emergency services. The exact details of this program and its name are nowhere to be found on UCPD’s website. While this “park, walk and talk” concept is not new to policing, I find it strange that there was no discussion or communication on campus about this new program, and I wish more clarity was provided.