Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

VB Police Officer Brings Guns On Campus

By Megan Fedele

mbfedele@vwc.edu

Starting this fall semester, an off-duty Virginia Beach police officer will be patrolling the campus at night alongside the normal Virginia Wesleyan security force. Following the murder of Officer Wally Zakrzewski last year and the tragedy at Virginia Tech last April, the school introduced the new security measure alongside other campus security upgrades.

The officer has been patrolling the campus nightly between 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. since Aug. 25. Director of Security Jerry Mance describes the new measure as another proactive step in making the campus more safe and secure.

 We have a strong relationship with the 3rd precinct of the Virginia Beach Police Department, said Mance.  We have a core group of about 12 Virginia Beach police officers. So it s not the same officer every night.

Unlike the VWC security force, the off-duty officer will be armed during his rounds on campus.

According to Mance, the officer  is the only one authorized to have a weapon on campus.

Despite the fact that the Virginia Beach officers will always be on campus off-duty, they will still have the ability to issue citations when Virginia state law is violated.

 They still have to act in accordance with their duties as sworn police officers, said Assistant Dean of Students Carolyn Hughes in an e-mail sent out to the campus community.

Specifically for students, the e-mail lists three examples of what the Residence Life staff expects to be possible citations given to students. Possession of an open container of alcohol in a public space - i.e. anywhere outdoors - the underage possession of alcohol, and public intoxication or drunk and disorderly conduct are all offenses that city police may be targeting when on late-night patrols.

The consequences of these citations go beyond punishments from the school. Citations require a court appearance, and based on a judge s ruling, the possibility of having a driver s license revoked, receiving fines and being assigned community service. In addition, the judgment will be marked on your permanent record.

The concept of having an officer on campus is not necessarily intended as a way to police student life, but it is intended to heighten security to make the campus safer.

 Our hope is that the police officers will not have to intervene in matters of student behavior, said Hughes.

Mance hopes that the police officer s presence will bolster campus security and provide more help to students.

 [Students] need not be afraid to confront a security officer, no matter how trivial they perceive a problem to be, said Mance.  We just need to know. Security is everyone s job, not just security s job.