The prevention of crime in further The prevention of crime in further The prevention of crime in further The prevention of crime in further educational establishmentseducational establishmentseducational establishmentseducational establishments

A report on my Traveling Fellowship to the United States, sponsored by The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

David Callander

Sodexho Security

The Community College, Hackney

Chapter

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Introduction Working as Head of Security at a large College in London, I became acutely aware of security implications and increases in the level of crime. I had been assaulted more times in 18 months at my College than in 26 years in the Police service. Something was wrong, and something had to change.

I noticed on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust site (www.wcmt.org.uk) that a travelling fellowship was available in the category of Juvenile Crime. I thought that I had an ideal project to look at. How the US dealt with Juvenile Crime in Educational Establishments. I also linked in a secondary objective – to analyse whether the Clery Act could be implemented in Britain.

The Clery Act made Colleges and Universities publish crime rates for their campus and immediate neighbourhood. This allowed parents and students to have an informed view of what the level of crime is in an area, prior to deciding to live or study there. Could this, or should this, be applied to the UK?

On being awarded a Fellowship, I set off in October 2005 to 4 areas of the USA :

• New York (high crime rate – plenty of variety of campuses)

• Indianapolis (low crime rate – contrasts the rural against the city)

• Miami (very high crime rate – high non white student base)

• Orlando (moderate crime rate – wide variety of schools)

Fellows can not obtain all the answers; neither does Shangri-la exist at the end of a rainbow.

“The Holy Grail is not in the finding. It is in the Journey”.

Saul Zaentz, 1997

I am only guessing, but I feel that Winston Churchill would have agreed with that quotation. Here starts the Journey.

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Chapter

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Saturday, 1st October, 2005

The week prior to leaving for America I had been teaching a Security Guard course in Grimsby (I also have a teaching qualification!). Arriving back in London at 9pm on the Friday evening left little time to prepare for an early morning departure from Heathrow, but I made it onto Virgin’s 0930 service, and had a very pleasant flight, arriving at New York’s JFK airport bang on time. I had 9 nights to stay in New York, which isn’t the cheapest place to find accommodation. On finding that £100 per night was being quoted for a single room “downtown”, I decided to go for the thriftier option of an Airport Hotel. For £45 per night I had a room at the Radisson JFK, a four star hotel with good facilities, and a free shuttle bus to and from the airport and the airport train station.

I deliberately tried to arrange travel at weekends to leave the “academic week” of Monday to Friday free for visits. After a six hour flight, and little sleep the night before, I believed I took the correct option in doing nothing but settle-in today. There is a danger of trying to run before you can walk, and doing that with jet-lag as well would not have been a good idea.

Sunday, 2nd October, 2005

Today was a preparation and familiarization day. Mid-morning saw me venture, via the hotel shuttle-bus, back to JFK Airport, where I bought a weekly ticket for the “Air Train” which links JFK and Jamaica Subway Station, and for the Subway itself. Having only been to the States once before (Los Angeles), New York was somewhat different. The lifestyle appeared very hectic, and even on a Sunday, people were rushing from one place to another, which only reminded me of rush-hour on the London Underground – something I was meant to be missing for a month.

I undertook a dry-run to Hunter College, which was to be my first academic visit, tomorrow, to ensure that I would arrive on time, and to know where the College was! I then had the afternoon to relax, and had the opportunity to take in one of my favourite past-times; American sports. America’s National Sport is Baseball, and I spent the afternoon at Shea Stadium, the Home of the New York Mets. Having followed Baseball for many a year, I was lucky to have the team I support, the Colorado Rockies, as the Visitors for the day, which turned out to be the last match of the season at Shea Stadium.

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On a very warm October day, this proved to be a microcosm of New York life. Every part of the social spectrum was in attendance, from wealthy businessmen on corporate hospitality, to those less affluent, who filled the cheap seats. The man next door to me did not even seem to be interested in the game, as he spent half an hour making phone calls to friends to say to come along, “as hot dogs are only one buck today!” The end result of a shock 10-3 win for the Rockies pleased me (as the only Rockies fan in the stadium) but the crowd certainly voiced their disapproval at their own team.

Monday, 3rd October, 2005

The first academic visit of my fellowship did not start very auspiciously. I arrived at Hunter College, which is situated in the Lennox Hill area of Manhattan, mid morning, to find that the Director of Public Safety, Louis Mader, who was to be my guide for the day, had been called away off-site for urgent operational reasons.

This event was unavoidable, but reinforced to me from Day One that I should have an alternative plan for each day in case this re-occurred. I subsequently rearranged my visit to Louis for Friday, 7th October, and took the opportunity to take an informal view of the Hunter College campus, to see the interaction between students and Security Staff.

Although not apparent from the above photograph, there was little access control on display at the site. On entrance to the College there was an Administrative Reception desk, and also a “Security” desk, manned by a Uniformed Officer. There was little interaction between students and Security staff, although when a student did approach the Security desk (usually for directions) they were always politely responded to. None of the students, however, was displaying any form of Identification (ID) Card, and I did wonder how the Security Staff would be able to identify students from non-students.

Having observed the interaction for several hours, I decide to ask the Director of Public Safety, Louis Mader, for his views on the subject at our Friday meeting.

Tuesday, 4th October, 2005

Hunter College is a large College, even by New York standards, with 20,000 enrolled students and 5000 staff and faculty members. It also leases rooms to outside bodies such as Churches and Businesses. It has it’s own Subway Station directly under the campus, which allows quick access to the college buildings and 24 hour transportation available.

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My second scheduled visit of the week was to the City College of New York, which, like Hunter College, comes under the umbrella of the City University of New York (CUNY) parent group.

George Crinnion is a Retired Police Officer, having served 25 years in the New York Police Department (NYPD). The “Security” department at City College is called the “Public Safety and Security” Department, and has a staff of 56 Peace Officers, who are Sworn Police Officers, although their Policing powers only apply on campus. Their average starting salary is $27,000, which equates to about £17,000 per annum. This is roughly similar to what Sodexho Security pay our own Security Officers in London. In addition to the Peace Officers, CCNY have an additional staff of 25 Security Guards, who do not have Police Powers, and are used mainly for reassurance and crime prevention patrols.

We talked initially about the differences in our Staff Training programmes. To obtain the Security Industry Authority Licence as a Security Guard entails a total of 30 hours training. This compares dramatically with the Peace Officer training at CCNY, which is 4 days a week for 6 months. This is somewhat reflected in the subject matter for training, which includes the training to carry Pepper Spray and Handcuffs whilst on routine patrol. My guards carry only a notebook and a pen!

I asked George what his view was on Access Control. I explained that I had seen little evidence of any access control system in existence, and this surprised me, as clearly the United States were in advance of the UK in Access Control technology. George supplied me with a map of the Campus.

The map (shown right) shows the problem that CCNY experience when trying to enforce access control. The Campus is split by many public streets; for example Convent Avenue and West 125th Street.

City College was founded in 1847 as The Free Academy, and currently has 13,000 enrolled students. It is sited in the borough of Harlem, and comprises of 34 acres of academic space. The Head of Public Safety and Security is Ed Diaz, and his Deputy Director is George Crinnion, who was my contact, and guide for my visit.

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This means that the utilisation of any form of access control would be very expensive due to the large number of entry points available. This problem affects many Colleges and schools in Britain – not necessarily because the Streets dissect the Campus, but more that the close proximity to public access makes physical security of buildings a major problem. In Britain, we would generally regard the inter-mingling of the public with students to be undesirable. At CCNY this is also their view, but they are realistic enough to know that it cannot be prevented where there are public rights of way in existence. The easy access to the campus and students for non- collegiate persons is also a major cause for concern for the safe transit of students and staff. CCNY has only 550 dormitory accommodation spaces, and is thus mainly a commuting college. As such, the majority of Students and Staff arrive via the Subway at 138th or 145th Street. The College provides transport between the Subway and the College to aide personal safety.

During peak demand periods this service is provided by a College Bus, Which is driven, and staffed by, uniformed CCNY Security Officers. Valid College ID cards must be shown for students to avail themselves of this facility.

As many students and staff work late at the College, a Security “Smart Car” (shown below) is available from 2330 hours until 0230 hours for transport to the 24 hour subway stations. Again, this is driven by a uniformed Security Officer. An example of their vehicle is shown below. No transit vehicle has ever been attacked.

Customer Satisfaction studies have shown that the staff, students and visitors to CCNY feel much safer that they can be conveyed by vehicle at most hours of the day or night to the 24 hour subway station, as opposed to having to walk through Harlem in darkness. Specific instructions on the scheme are notified to every student, including the fact that no non-CCNY-badged vehicles will ever be used, and that travelers should not get into a vehicle not being

driven by a uniformed member of the Security Staff on campus, who will produce their ID if required.

The Security Staff at CCNY have a considerable distance to travel between buildings and satellite sites, and are equipped with marked CCNY Security Vehicles for that purpose. The vehicles are clearly badged as Public Safety vehicles, and not Police cars, but the preventative impact of a marked security resource is, again, beneficial

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in preventing and deterring crime.

The fear of crime is more of a problem than the actual crime figures indicate. Statistics show only 9 crimes committed in 2004, which was down from 10 in 2003. However, the Clery Act Statistics do not show the amount of petty thefts/larcenies, which George admitted was his biggest problem.

To counter this CCNY has set up an Investigation Unit, using the experience of former NYPD Detective John Donohue, to carry out pro-active intelligence led operations. John informed me that these have included overt and covert operations, targeting known traveling criminals, especially those based in or near Harlem. This has had some success in curtailing criminal operations, particularly those of habitual; or career criminals, who are allowed free access to most of the college because of the public right of way on the campus. To dedicate an officer full time to this initiative has been expensive, and the situation is to be reviewed in the long-term.

The normal course of action for anyone committing an offence is to take criminal action. Zero tolerance exists, and I asked George about how his Officers use their power of Discretion? George Replied:

“If a crime is committed, Discretion is minimal. They know they will be arrested”.

George Crinnion, 2005

Substance abuse is a problem throughout Educational premises, but at CCNY is mostly restricted to alcohol abuse, especially amongst the younger students. The only drug problem that they have is the occasional student with marijuana, or drug

dealers selling on public space either within or adjacent to the campus.

It is fair to say that CCNY has a more “Security” orientated set up than many Colleges I visited. Their zero tolerance for crimes, and lack of discretionary powers for their officers, make for a stricter regime. That is not to say, however, that this is wrong, as 9 recorded crimes in a year for a campus of 34 acres cannot be bad.

Student safety awareness is taught through articles in “The Campus”, the CCNY monthly newspaper, and on an extensive Public Safety section of the CCNY website (www.ccny.cuny.edu).

During my visit I saw Officers handing out crime prevention leaflets, which are issued on a rotational

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basis depending on the time of year. For example at start of term there is advice for new students, and cycle safety advice in the summer months.

On my discussion with George about the effects of the Clery Act, he admitted that he had just been working on the figures for 2005. His plus points are that

• It encourages Colleges to put resources into reducing the level of crime

• It shows the true figures for the educational establishment, and the area that the students may be housed in

• It therefore allows parents and students to make an informed choice when selecting their place of further or higher education

The negative points that he highlighted include :

• It penalises colleges that are based in rough neighbourhoods, as the crime figures may be nil within the campus, but high in the immediate vicinity, such as applies to CCNY in Harlem

• It is extremely time consuming to compile the statistics

• The system is open to abuse, and can be manipulated

Wednesday, 5th October, 2005

My third scheduled visit was to one of America’s “Ivy League” establishments, Columbia University. Founded in 1754 by King George II, as King’s College, it was renamed Columbia after the American Revolution, to break the ties with the United Kingdom. It is probably most famous as being a political hotbed in the 1960’s, where 1000 radical students complaining about American involvement in Vietnam, seized control of the campus buildings, and had to be forcibly ejected.

Today, Columbia is still seen as a radical, left-wing, University. Currently, it has around 23,000 students and 4,000 staff members. However, there are 15 applicants for every place, so competition is fierce, and fees are high. The estimated course fee for 2005 is $45,000 per annum on a 4 year degree programme.

With fees set so high, there is a sizeable budget available for the Public safety Department.

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James McShane is the Assistant Vice Principal (Public Safety) at Columbia University, and a retired Deputy Chief of the 47th Precinct of the NYPD. James informed me that Columbia made a decision in January, 2004, to rename its’ Security department, and to call it a Public Safety Department. This was partly to reflect the ethos of the University, and it’s more liberal attitude to Security issues. This is perfectly summed-up in the first few lines of the Public Safety Department’s Mission Statement.

“The mission of the Columbia University Department of Public Safety is to enhance the quality of life for the entire Columbia community by maintaining a secure and open environment, where the safety of all is balanced with the rights of the individual”

Columbia University Mission Statement

It is easy to see from the Mission Statement that the “ethos” at Columbia is totally different from the “ethos” at CCNY. Whereas CCNY apply a Zero Tolerance policy in relation to crime and disorder, Columbia Security Staff are encouraged to use their power of discretion far more, and to administer warnings as opposed to making arrests. Like CCNY, Columbia employs Security Officers with different roles. Peace Officers, with Police Powers on campus are employed, as well as un-sworn Security Guards, with no arrest powers.

The total staffing for Columbia is 101 Security Staff, which is broken down into 71 Peace Officers and 30 Security Guards. The average salary is around $38,000 for Peace Officers, and $25,000 for Security Guards, which is way above UK Security Officer earnings, and some 50% more than CCNY Peace Officer rates. When I discussed this area with James it became apparent that because Columbia set its’ own (high) fees, they expect to use some of the revenue to recruit “better” staff. This is extremely important for Columbia as (in total contrast to CCNY) the New York Police Department are not encouraged to be on their campus for any reason, and therefore crime and prevention matters need to be dealt with in-house.

Columbia Officers are not fully equipped to deal with all emergencies. They are not armed, do not carry nightsticks, pepper spray or handcuffs, as these were seen to be too officious for the University management. The low instances of serious violence on campus means that staff accept this decision, although on speaking to the officers it was apparent that they would prefer to have these self-defence weapons in their possession.

On touring the campus it became apparent that there was a “crème-de-la-crème” attitude on the campus, similar to that exuded at some Oxbridge Universities.

Columbia even provide their own Ambulance service as part of the Public Safety Remit. By Mr McShane’s own admission this has a lot to do with Statistics, and could be

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seen to follow (allegedly) the “Disney principal”. Nobody ever dies at Disney, as they also have their own ambulances that take injured people off site. If pronounced dead at a hospital, it does not count against site statistics. I must stress that these comments were made anecdotedly, and I am not suggesting that Columbia would use the same tactic. The provision of a dedicated ambulance to the site is a huge plus feature and greatly assists urgent medical assistance.

Like both the Colleges I had previously visited, Access Control was again virtually non-existent. Situated in the ‘posher’ part of Harlem, or “Up the Hill Harlem” as James referred to it, their main problem was keeping intruders out of the premises, again due to the public right of way that runs through the campus. In addition, local residents are encouraged to use some of the facilities (including the canteen and library) as a means of achieving good University/Resident relationships. This does make it difficult for the Public Safety Department, however, who cannot easily distinguish between a student or staff member, genuine visitor, or a potential thief, vagrant or serial sex offender.

Having seen Columbia’s Crime Statistics for 2004, I was somewhat shocked to see a Clery Act disclosure form, which showed 76 major crimes took place across the campuses. James explained that there was a Cadre of career criminals operating on the Columbia Campus, attracted by the affluence of the students (and their supporting parents), high value possessions and easy access and egress from the college by subway or car. This appears to be confirmed by the high level of Burglaries in 2004 (19), which is basically defined as theft by a trespasser.

When I asked James if parents and students should be worried by the statistics, he pointed out that Columbia was massively oversubscribed, and that the crime statistics did not appear to have any bearing on a decision to be educated at Columbia. James also implied that statistics could be manipulated :

“The Clery Act is the thing that could hit you. The devil is in the details”

James McShane, 2005

I asked James for his views on the Clery Act, and what benefit it had to Columbia. He referred me to Ken Finnegan, his chief investigator and “Clery Act Man”.

Ken Finnegan fulfills the same role at Columbia that John Donoghue undertakes at CCNY. Responsible for Crime Pattern Analysis, Covert and Overt surveillance, target identification, and in this case Clery Act statistic compilations. Ken clearly has a challenging role to fulfill.

The approach to the pro-active side of crime prevention is administered differently at Columbia. More emphasis is placed on asset management, and building close

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relationships with the IT Department to prevent high-tech thefts. Extra resources are put into student awareness issues, and plain clothes patrols are utilised to try and catch the habitual criminals from outside the Campus.

Thursday, 6th October, 2005

My next visit took me to One Police Plaza – home of the New York Police Department, where I was met by Lieutenant Jack Donaghue, from their Schools Education Unit, who explained about the “Impact for Schools Programme”.

Jack explained that New York City had over 4,000 Uniformed, but civilian, School Safety Officers, at all levels of their 1,300 Schools. In the past two years. Mayor Bloomberg had been faced with an upsurge in violent incidents in schools and colleges, and had dedicated 150 NYPD Officers to operate mainly in the “worst” 12 schools (as defined by crime statistics), which were called “The Dirty Dozen”.

Part of the problem, as perceived by the Police, was the fact that crimes and misdemeanours were being identified by Security Departments at educational establishments, but the Academic side were often ignoring these for many reasons, including the possibility of losing funding through exclusions and suspensions.

Jack illustrated his point:

“Educators can have a narrow focus with regard to behaviour and crime. They can be blinkered by what happens to their students”

Jack Donoghue, 2005

Those Schools and Colleges that were seen as “failing” had the “School Safety Agenda” (SSA) imposed on them. This forced the Police and a nominated Teacher to patrol in tandem, within the campus, to prevent crime and to challenge unruly and disrespectful behaviour. A Patrol Allocation Plan focused the patrols on challenging a lack of respect by students, which was seen as detrimental to obtaining academic achievement, and the first step on the ladder of crime. This was a radical concept, and one that Jack admits that the “Dirty Dozen” schools did not approve of. However, criminal and disciplinary action in those schools challenging unruly behaviour has actually declined. Also, the Mayor has stated that every school and college in New York will be evaluated for the introduction or expansion of CCTV, with decisions based on a Crime Reduction “Value” criteria

Friday, 7th October, 2005

I returned to Hunter College to find my Host, Louis Mader, the Director of Public Safety, awaiting me. Louis answered my concerns about the lack of Access Control by stating that they had long-since given up with that concept. There were too

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many entrances and exits, making access control equipment too expensive to contemplate. Louis had just completed a feasibility study, and the cheapest quote came in at $4 million.

Attempts have been made to include the community in Hunter College’s day-to-day operation. Like Columbia, local residents have access to some of their facilities, such as the restaurants, and functions in social clubs finish no later than 1am to prevent noise pollution on exit, which could irritate the locals and lead to bad feeling.

The Academic Staff encourage a Police Presence, and are happy with Police patrols of the Campus. Sworn Security Staff are allowed to carry firearms, however the College Management insist that they are only drawn from locked cabinets with their authority. The presence of an NYPD Precinct next door is a decided advantage!

Louis (shown right, with some of his staff) admitted that he was disappointed that Students did not display their ID Cards at all times, They had recently started enforcing the wearing of the cards, which was a condition of the students code of conduct, but had met with a lack of support from students and staff, who felt it impinged on their human rights. There was also the issue of the additional cost of the cards for 25,000 staff and students.

Saturday/Sunday, 8/9th October, 2005

Two days of rest after a whole week of visits, and I enjoyed my time sightseeing in the big apple. At the top of the Empire State Building I was listening to the Guided tour on my headset, when the guide informed me that the area to the North included the part of New York where in 1931 “Sir Winston Churchill was run over by a New York Taxi Cab”. Illustration 198 in “Churchill – A Photographic Portrait” confirmed this. Even on top of the Empire State Building you cannot escape the “Churchill Phenomenon”!

Monday, 10th October, 2005

A day of travel as I departed the hustle-bustle of JFK Airport for the almost “rural” setting of Indianapolis. The culture change was noticable, as I booked in at the Indianapolis Econolodge. No more were there businessmen in expensive suits, as I found myself in the blue-collar world of long-distance truck-drivers, who were the main clientele of the Hotel. It was very refreshing to sit down and talk with these men in the bar, in a way that just would not happen at a 4-star New York Hotel.

Tuesday, 11th October, 2005

Today was planned as a “catch-up day”, and I wrote-up all my notes, and did some research at the local Library. This was a blessing in disguise, as I found that the

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Libraries in Indiana had free internet and email access, which allowed me to write home and confirm next week’s appointments.

Wednesday, 12th October, 2005

Hanover College was, without doubt, the best looking campus I visited. Perhaps it was it’s location, in rural South Indiana, or perhaps it was the friendly staff and large expanse of parkland, but this College really appealed to me.

Head of Security at the College was Dave Thomas – again a retired Police Officer. Dave had just finished compiling his Clery Act statistics for the year, which had taken him three and a half days to do. Dave showed me the guide to Clery Act statistics – a massive document that governed how the data had to be collected and published, and which seemed overly bureaucratic. A “Help-Desk” was provided to assist in the compilation of the Clery Reports, but their staff were perceived as being “unknowing and unhelpful”.

Dave thought that the Clery Act statistics were a useful tool in school choice, even though he admitted that the low crime levels at his establishment obviously showed his own College in a favourable light.

Founded in 1827, Hanover College is one of the oldest Colleges in Indiana. It has a large campus of 650 acres, and yet has only 1050 students, with a maximum class size of 16. The Security Department comprises of just 8 Officers, who provide a 24 hour service on campus. These are backed-up by a number of Campus Protection Officers (CPO’s) who assist with low level security tasks and visible patrolling.

The Security Department have no representation at Senior Management meetings, and all input is through the Dean of Property Services. Being a “Liberal Arts College”, Dave stated that the relationship with curriculum staff could at times be strained. With a very low crime level, many staff questioned why they even have a Security Department, but with 30% of students residing “on-site”, there is a need for a reactive response team. In the 1980s, one member of the Security Department disturbed a burglar on campus, and was shot and killed.

Dave went on to say

“The staff fall into two camps. Those that see us as a necessary evil, and those that have been converted through our actions”

Dave Thomas, 2005

Although the Department is “badged” as Security, it is very much with an emphasis on Public Service and Safety. The Security Department run all the Fire Drills, and also provide a Rape Aggression Defence (RAD) programme for students and local

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residents. This is a 12 hour training programme that shows students how to deal with sexual aggression. Involving the community on these courses helps to build bridges between the College, the students and the local residents.

The College see the relationship with the Community as a way of reducing crime and increasing harmony. New students are required to work in the local community, doing tasks like cleaning up rubbish and working in local youth clubs. The Student Fraternity Houses (accommodation blocks and associations) also adopt local parks that they purchase and maintain equipment for.

The main problem faced by Dave and his team is driving offences. As the campus is outside the built-up area, and is extremely large in size, driving has become the norm. Residents complain more about driving standards than any other offence. Parking enforcement is actually carried out by Senior Students, who are paid $1 for every parking enforcement ticket issued. Hanover College has a policy to bill parents for enforcement fines – a policy that seems to work, as parents deal quickly with bad behaviour by their children!

Like many rural locations, theft is not a big problem, with only about 30 minor thefts occurring each year on campus. Despite having two paintings valued at $250,000 each in a building, there is no alarm system, and they are protected merely by physical security. There are also no CCTV cameras whatsoever on the site, as the College Cabinet will not allow them, as they think they are “an intrusion on privacy”. The lack of both these crime prevention measures show a high level of trust. The only major theft they have had in 20 years was the theft of a corpse from the medical training department, which was left on one of the College Lawns. This was clearly a student prank that went wrong, but even this was dealt with internally by staff.

Thursday, 13th October, 2005

Marian College is situated in uptown Indianapolis, and has 1,700 students studying for 95 different degree and degree access courses. A Liberal Arts College, with a Catholic religious background, their Campus Safety Department is headed by James Davidson

A more modern campus than any that I had yet visited, Marian College put a high emphasis on Crime Prevention education and community involvement.

Each new student receives a 33 page booklet detailing the Campus Safety policy for the College, and giving helpful advice on crime prevention, especially with regard to the physical security of

halls of residence and the safeguarding of personal property whilst on and off the Campus.

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Social inclusion can be seen in the photograph on page 13. The building to the left of the picture is a teaching area, whilst the blue signed entrance is for the Civic Theatre, to which the public have a right of access. This follows the theme set by virtually all Colleges in allowing the local residents to feel part of the educational establishment by actively encouraging them to come onto the campus. Again, access control was absolutely non-existent, and I could not tell who was a student and who was a visitor.

Unfortunately, not long after my arrival, Mr Davidson was called away to an important meeting, and could not return. As no-one else was available to assist me with my research I had to cut my visit short and, unfortunately, it could not be rearranged in the time I had available.

Friday, 14th October, 2005

Lieutenant John Stiegelmeyer was my contact at the Indianapolis Public Schools Police Department. A 22 year veteran of the Indianapolis Police Department, on retiral he joined the Senior Management Team for School Security. Based in an office building shared with School Administrators, this provides the perfect opportunity for co-ordinating school safety and crime reduction strategies.

Officers are assigned to the 5 main High Schools and 14 largest Middle Schools in Indianapolis, and have full Police Powers. They patrol in marked Police Cars, which (like the photo) proudly display the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) Logo. However, their Policing powers only apply when on campus or dealing with educational security matters.

4-5 Officers are allocated to each High School, with 1 or 2 Officers deployed to each Middle School. Junior schools are catered for mainly by volunteers, but Police are deployed if there are any problems. Due to a serious problem with Hispanic gangs in one area, the children who are the most prolific offenders are allocated to one school.

Extra staff are allocated to the problem school, and there is a close relationship at that venue between the Police, Teaching Staff, Counsellors and Social Workers. Prior to implementation of this initiative, the IPD made 25 arrests every day at Indianapolis Schools. This number has now been reduced to a maximum of 3.

Lieutenant Stiegelmeyer told me :

“Putting all your rotten eggs in one basket doesn’t sound ideal – but it works!”

John Stiegelmeyer, 2005

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Services to Schools and Colleges provided by the IPS include centralized CCTV monitoring, searching using hand-held metal detectors, high visibility patrols and the deployment of passive drugs dogs.

Contrary to the situation at all other establishments I visited, the IPS have a drugs problem within their schools, but not an alcohol problem. The use of Marijuana (cannabis) is common, and crack cocaine use is becoming more prevalent, especially within the gang cultures, stated Lt Stiegelmeyer (shown below, on the left of the picture, with his Management Team).

In common with most of the other establishments I visited, the IPS have a programme of security education in place. Their internal “Metro Gang Task Force” leads in gang prevention and education matters, and crime prevention seminars are run on a regular basis. The Officers allocated to each school are often utilised at PTA events to provide a point of contact for parents.

The problem that the IPS have is one of training. Unlike many “regular” police forces, the IPS recruit and then pay

for your training. After a 14 week training course, many recruits leave within the first 12 months to join the Indianapolis Police Department. This has led to a serious retention problem that is having to be addressed by senior management.

Saturday/Sunday, 15/16th October, 2005

Two days of rest to see the sights around Indianapolis. Despite being the largest city in Indiana, the contrast to New York meant that it had a “Country Town” feel to it.

The impressive RCA Dome (left) was visited to see my beloved Indianapolis Colts overcome the St Louis Rams, despite being 17-0 down after 10 minutes. Rest and relaxation does not come any better than this…..

Monday, 17th October, 2005

A day spent typing up research, sending emails, and watching “Educational Access” TV. This is television designed for Teachers and Students, which is something that is now being introduced into the UK. Unlike Britain, however, the US TV System includes programmes on Security related issues, such as crime prevention for students and anti-bullying. The UK version is designed to focus only on teaching related subjects, which does not include campus security. In the light of my experiences with the programmes in the US (which were very informative) this seems very narrow minded.

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Tuesday, 18th October, 2005

I departed Indianapolis for the “glamour” of Miami. Despite having a reputation as one of the places to go for style (see the art-deco building to the right) I was looking forward to visiting for another reason.

Miami has a high crime rate, and I made appointments to visit three schools and colleges in the most run-down and violent areas of Miami. This would be the perfect contrast the low-crime visits that I had undertaken in Indiana, and would allow me to see locations where the emphasis was on access control and search techniques. Unfortunately, things don’t always run smoothly!

Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sat, 19/20/21/22 October, 2005

This was meant to be the tightest part of my schedule. 3 visits in 3 days, as I had to leave Miami for Orlando on Sunday. This is where the Hurricane and Churchill topics interlink. On the television on Tuesday evening, we were warned about the impending arrival of Hurricane Wilma. Best estimates said it would hit Miami and the Florida Coast on Thursday.

I checked with my three arranged visits – Miami-Dade College; Barry University and the Miami Police Department, to find that all would have to cancel. Miami-Dade and Barry had closed their colleges with immediate effect, and started to board-up, with no staff on-site. The Police had put into effect an evacuation plan for the Florida Keys, and all Police leave cancelled. Non-operational visits and duties were cancelled.

In effect I now had four wasted days, and used the time to get in touch with people at home who were worried, as they knew that I was in Miami, with one of the worst hurricanes in living memory expected. Sightseeing was also not an option for the same reasons shown above. Boarding-up was the activity to do, and Governmental advice was to stay put indoors, as the wind started to pick-up.

Sunday, 23rd October, 2005

The wind was by now at Gale Force, but the Hurricane was still off the coast. Miami Airport was closed, but I had to get out of my hotel, as other people had my room reserved, and all hotel accommodation in Miami was fully booked. I was therefore somewhat forced into the three hour car journey to Orlando. Funnily enough, the journey went without hitch, despite every highway petrol station having no petrol due to panic evacuations of the City of Miami. I arrived in Orlando to find it pleasantly warm, although still very breezy.

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Monday, 24th October, 2005

This was meant to be my first visit of the week. Unfortunately, this was the day that the Hurricane did land. From 8am to 1pm, we were battered by the Hurricane, and ordered by Police to remain in our Hotel Rooms. The amount of rain was unbelievable, as was the speed that the weather returned to normal when the hurricane passed over us.

By 5pm the sun was out again, and cars were venturing out onto the road. I would not have made it if I had been traveling on Monday as opposed to the Sunday that I did travel.

Tuesday, 25th October, 2005

Not being able to contact Colleges over the weekend meant that I was very much in the dark about damage, and whether my intended visits would be available or not.

My first point of call was the University of Central Florida, where I met the Chief of Police, Richard Turkiewicz. Richard explained that UCF had over 45,000 full and part time students, and had an intake of 6,000 new full time students each year. Sited some 13 miles away from Downtown Orlando, the main campus comprises of some 1400 acres, and had escaped most of the hurricane damage.

A valuation of the assets of the campus in 2005 showed a net worth of over $192 milillion, which is a lot to protect!

Although the campus has 4,100 places in halls of residence (pictured left), most students reside off campus, and over 14,000 students are bused into the campus

from outside areas every day. The campus even has it’s own dedicated Bus Station with multi-stands and passenger waiting areas.

Security at UCF is provided by 54 Police Officers (on-campus powers only) with an additional 8 Community Service Officers; 9 radio dispatchers and 5 civilian

administration staff. 6 of the Policing staff are designated as Investigation Officers, and carry out enquiries in relation to crimes in the same way that CID would in this country.

The campus itself is large and spacious, and comprises a good mix of old and new buildings. Other than the IT Suites, there is little access control, and the close proximity to surrounding roads make “drive-up” thefts a problem – particularly with regard to computer equipment. The campus itself has been extensively landscaped, with numerous water features which gave a sense of tranquility. Relationships between the Campus Police

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Department and Students seemed really good, and Richard pointed out that they took an active part in achieving that.

Staff are involved in training students in self-defence through regular training classes, and they regularly publish articles on student safety and crime prevention in the twice weekly University newspaper, the “Central Florida Future”, as well as articles in their own Security newsletter, the “Knights Safety Guide”.

I received a tour of the Campus from Steven Nordinger, one of the Community Service Officers, who to sum it up is the equivalent of a Police and Community Support Officer (PCSO) in this country. All the problems, but without the powers or pay of a full-time Police Officer! Richard pointed out that they were having a crime prevention fair at UCF on Thursday, and I gladly accepted Richard’s invitation to attend. An option to have a full day on patrol with Steven on Wednesday had to be declined, due to a scheduled visit to Broward Community College.

Wednesday, 26th October, 2005

I was unable to get in touch with anyone from Broward Community College, which was to have been my visit for the day. The picture of the damage caused to a park next to BCC (shown below) shows why. The damage was extensive to the College, and students and staff did not return for a week.

Thankfully, with another “blow-out” due to the hurricane (pardon the pun), I was able to put “Plan B” into operation, which was to accept the offer that I declined the day before to re-visit UCF for an afternoon patrolling with Steven Nordinger.

The UCF Campus had not sustained the level of damage that the Broward area of Florida had witnessed (shown left). In common with others Universities and Colleges in

Florida, they had closed the previous week in preparation for the hurricane.

Steven took me on a foot and mobile patrol of the campus. He explained that they had recently lost a colleague. Officer Mario Jenkins was in plain clothes at a University tailgate party, when a fight broke out. Having identified himself as a Police Officer, one of the men involved turned on him, forcing Officer Jenkins to draw his gun. Unfortunately, an armed officer from a different Police Force saw him pull out his gun, but did not hear him identify himself, and shot him dead. It is fair to say that the staff I met were all clearly distressed about the events of that day.

The main problem encountered continued to be thefts on campus, with 280 thefts or burglaries occurring in the past 12 months. This was astronomically high, compared with Hunter College and City University, but it must be borne in mind that UCF’s site is at least twice the size and they have less than half the security staff of the other two locations.

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Of the 26 arrests made in the previous 12 months, 25 were for drink or drugs offences. Steven took me to some off-campus accommodation, where he pointed out some vehicles belonging to known drug dealers. These vehicles are targeted if they come onto campus property.

Crime Prevention Campaigns are regularly mounted, and Steven showed me a stock of “I could have stolen this!” stickers, which Steven attached to anything that was not properly secured, as a warning to those that could have lost property.

Steven informed me that his salary was only around £16,000, which is considerably less than my own staff receive in the UK. He makes ends meet by earning extra money as an Interpreter, being a fluent Spanish speaker. This, secondary, employment actually brings in more money than his main job as a CSO.

Thursday, 27th October, 2005

My last full day of visits, coincided with the UCF Crime Prevention Event, and I attended the Orlando Campus for the third consecutive day. Being one of the largest campuses in the whole of United States there was still much to see.

One thing that I had not noticed the day before was the “blue light phones” that were situated throughout the campus. Pressing a button put you in immediate contact with the Security Staff, and CCTV was immediately directed at your location.

My host for the day was Sergeant Troy Williamson, who is head of the Community and Media Relations Unit within the Campus Police Department. Troy took me to the event, and introduced me to some of the exhibitors, which included the Orlando Police Department; The Motor Accident Bureau; City of Ocoee Police; City of Casselberry Police Department, and Seminole County Sheriff’s Department.

The City of Ocoee Police Department presented a very good example of a drugs awareness programme. Their Drugs Board showed all types of drugs, together with the cost to buy each drug (in dollars) and the cost to use each drug (in years in jail). This was very effective.

Realism came from the City of Casselberry Police Department :

“There are three elements required for any crime to occur. Desire, Ability and Opportunity. There is only one of those elements we have any control over”

Officer Zachary Hudson, 2005

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Friday, 28th October, 2005

Packing-up and last-minute shopping day before heading home. A last visit to a sporting arena – this time to see the Florida Panthers play Ice Hockey. Still can’t get over $7 for a beer at sporting events, but I suppose it is an effective way to prevent drunkenness! Back to my hotel for a last night’s sleep in the USA

Saturday, 28th October, 2005

Back to UK to welcoming committee of wife and step-daughter!

Chapter

3

Findings

This can be little more than an Executive Summary of the Findings, and a more in-depth list of recommendations, with technical justification, will be published in due course.

• There does seem a strong case for the publishing of crime statistics showing the amount of crime in academic establishments.

• Access Control appears to have been largely ignored in the United States, as not presenting a cost effective means of deterring crime

• Juvenile Crime measures that have been introduced by the Police and Local Government have not been supported by the curriculum staff when they are seen to be punitive

• Educational Access Television is used effectively to prevent juvenile crime

• There is a need for more social inclusion between schools and residents

• Most Security Departments have re-badged as Public Safety to reflect their core roles