University police struggle for student respect

University police officers sometimes just don't get the respect other police officers enjoy.

Because the University police deal with safety and security issues, which can be viewed as non-police activities, they are sometimes looked down upon by some students, said University Police Services supervisor Dwight Smith.

A big contributor to the lack of respect University police sometimes get is parking enforcement, he said.

"These mundane types of activities for order are seen as unimportant by the students until it's them that's personally affected," Smith said.

University Police Services is the second-largest department in the county, and until last year it had the only canine unit in the area, Smith said.

The officers handle their own criminal investigations, he added, and the department has a bomb technician on staff. In addition, each sworn officer must have a bachelor's degree, Smith said.

"In many ways (University police) are more qualified than regular cops because of their degree," said Jake Bobick (senior-administration of justice). "Everybody calls them rent-a-cops, though."

University police officers have law enforcement authority and are allowed to carry firearms, he said, often training with the State College Police Department.

The University police are very professional, said Sgt. John Wilson of State College police. The two departments handle some investigations together and work closely with each other on special events, such as home football games and the annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Wilson said.

"We have a pretty unique relationship," he said.

The need for cooperation between the two departments arises because sometimes crimes in town are committed by people who live on campus, and vice versa, Wilson said.

The Auxiliary Services of the University police, made up of students, often bear the brunt of people's lack of respect for University Police Services, said Lori O'Donnell (junior-wildlife and fisheries science), an auxiliary officer.

"We don't get a lot at all," she said.

Because of a lack of respect for these officers, they occasionally hear some less-than-clean comments about their jobs.

"Sometimes people will cuss us out," O'Donnell said.

Often, she said, she would like to tell these people that her job isn't as easy as it looks.