September 27, 2007
Albany -- Albany State students know university police are there. "They are there 24/7, especially checking to see if you have decals now. If you don't have them you will have a penalty for them. So they are definitely around campus," said ASU Junior, Richanda Linsey.
Though their presence is looked at by some students as a nuisance. "Tickets, they get tickets for parking in the wrong spots, parking in faculty parking spots, or not having a decal," said ASU Junior, Timothy Ellsberry.
But their emphasis on decals is part of the reason why there hasn't been a violent crime at Albany State University's campus this year. "Anybody can get on our campus at any time. We have decals that we check for 24 hours a day to help keep people who don't belong. Some of them with undesirables, and we want them away so that we can keep things safe for our students," said Assistant Police Chief, John Fields.
Albany State Police Chief Roosevelt Brown implemented several changes the past two years to keep things on campus secure. "The changing of the cars and the colors, they also have protective vests and we also have radars up and down Radium Springs. We have our own dispatch so basically it's a self sufficient police department," said Fields.
And those things keep students feeling that way, too. "They are pretty effective with it. Whenever they have a problem, even if it's the slightest thing, they have to or three cars," said Ellsberry.
"We don't want them to be afraid of us, the big bad police; we want them to come talk to us," said Fields. Because safety can only be achieved with everyone's participation.
Property crimes such as theft and burglary are up on campuses across the state, but those numbers remained about the same at Albany State.
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