After collecting input from the university community, the Department of Public Safety took its campaign to upgrade its officer’s authority to a new level on the floor of the University Senate.

USen had a chance to question university officials about the proposed upgrade of Public Safety officers to peace officer status.

Marlene Hall, director of Public Safety, presented to the Senate the reasoning behind the upgrade, the changes it would bring, and the steps to be taken before the changes can take place.

Last year there were 23 weapons calls on campus, Hall said. At the present level of enforcement, these types of calls are difficult to respond to, due to the legal constraints placed on Public Safety officers, she said.

One of the concerns Hall said the department has addressed is the way in which the upgrade will change officer’s relationship with the community.

‘One of the questions people are wondering about is ‘will this change how closely we relate to the community?” she said. ‘I feel that if you inquired at my previous institutions, you would find that my staff and I always went to great lengths to reach out to the community.’

All of the 12 schools that Syracuse University considers to be peers currently have officers with increased authority, said Beth Rougeux of the Office of Governmental Relations. She said 91 percent of schools with 15,000 or more students currently use officers with peace status or more.

Questions from senators touched on many points, ranging from the amount of authority peace officers would have to the kinds of uniforms peace officers would wear. But the one ubiquitous question was one of the most obvious – how much will the upgrade cost?

Nahmin Horwitz, professor of physics, said he had heard that the start-up cost for the upgrade would be around $500,000, and that the cost to keep the program running would be somewhere in the range of $300,000.

While the budget committee has yet to present its report on the cost of the program, Hall said that the cost could be in the range Horwitz quoted. Hall also said that steps need to be taken to make SU safer, regardless of whether the motion to upgrade to peace officer status is passed.

‘You would be misled to think that if we don’t do this, then we won’t be spending money,’ Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw said.

Another option that Public Safety considered was buying coverage from the Syracuse Police Department, which would mean paying officers overtime. Deputy Chief Michael Heenen of the Syracuse police said that this option was not viable because of how thinly the Syracuse police department is stretched already, with the minimum number of officers covering each district.

A variety of Senate committees, including the budget committee, will review the proposed upgrade and present their findings to senators in February.

In other USen news:

n The Senate also held a closed session in which it discussed the awarding of an honorary degree.

Published on December 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm