By Paul A. Anthony, Editor in Chief
New personal safety whistles are among the additions to campus safety this year.
The whistles, which are supposed to be given to each freshman woman, are part of the ACU Police Department and office of Public Safety’s new focus this year, said Jimmy Ellison, chief of police and director of Public Safety.
That focus includes an emphasis on professionalism, as shown by new uniforms, a new office and a new Web site.
The office, which Ellison found and bought, is across Campus Court from Sewell Theatre and the Administration Building. It features a larger lobby, bright lights and air conditioning.
“The university has been committed to improving our image,” Ellison said. “We want students to walk into our office and feel more professional.”
The uniforms replace a more casual dress code for officers where they were allowed to wear polo shirts, a move designed to enforce Ellison’s goal of professionalism.
Ellison said he also wants his force to be proactive-preventing crimes before they happen.
“I want to do a lot of proactive awareness education,” he said. “The best way to prevent crimes from occurring is to make people aware of them beforehand.”
Part of the department’s approach includes not only the whistles, which would be worn if women are out late at night, but also the installation of lights in the Smith and Adams halls parking lot, where several cars have been broken into in the past year. The department also has stepped up patrols at so-called peak times-late at night when crimes are most likely to occur.
Another extra measure taken this year will be a revision in door-unlocking policy. Ellison said officers in the past have allowed students into academic buildings to retrieve lost items after the doors lock. This year the practice will continue, but students will not be let in if they do not present their ID cards.
The revision comes partly in response to the still-unsolved Quiet Place vandalism in January. Ellison said he has received no tips or leads of any kind in his investigation of the vandalism, which resulted in several thousand dollars in damage to four Quiet Place rooms in the building.
