College and University Security Community policing pays off at Michigan State

Apr 1, 1999 12:00 PM, GEORGE PARTINGTON

Michigan State University in East Lansing covers eight square miles and is a center of learning for 43,000 students. About 23,000 of those students live on the eight-square-mile campus, a higher number than anywhere else in the country, according to Tony Kleibecker, the campus police captain.

To keep the students, 4,084 faculty and 8,469 staff members safe, Kleibecker and his 57-member campus police force practice community policing. Officers are active, visible and approachable. Since pioneering the concept 10 years ago, they have perfected the approach. Kleibecker says it is the key to a dramatic drop in burglary and larceny rates.

Just as important, he says, "is the relationship it gives us with the people in our community. It allows the community members to put a first name with a uniform."

Ten police offices are spaced strategically throughout the campus. They are open 24 hours; officers are sure to be there during specified hours, and are on patrol at other times.

Each officer has a primary duty to work with the student, faculty and staff population in an assigned area. The officers take ownership of the area, respond to complaints and follow up on crime reports, according to Kleibecke.r The police force had always been professional, ethical and service-oriented, but previously there was a gap separating police from civilians, says Kleibecker. Now, due to the community-oriented guiding philosophy, the force has bridged the gap.

Special project: Alcohol Kleibecker, a 24-year veteran of the Michigan State police force, also fills the roles of public information officer and training coordinator.

As a leader on special projects, he was assigned last year to find solutions to the problems associated with student drinking (see sidebar, page 29).

The special task force was set up after a riot last May, caused by the banning of alcohol on Munn Field. The intramural field, used for extra parking, also was used for tailgating before football games. The tailgating - and over-indulgence in alcohol - often led to illegal activity.

Campus police decided to combat the problem by prohibiting alcohol consumption at the site. When word got out, students, using e-mail communiques, organized a "final party" on Munn Field, scheduled for Friday, May 1, 1998.

After gathering at the field, students marched across the North campus into the adjacent downtown area.

"We started getting people coming out of bars, and it grew to a large crowd and got out of hand," Kleibecker recalls. The original group of about 100 students grew to about 2,000.

The crowd started a bonfire in the street, and later - the riot lasted until dawn - the Cedar Village apartment complex adjacent to the northeast section of campus suffered a similar fate. Rioters pulled wood from a split-rail fence and pulled down two wooden balconies to feed a fire there.

The only reported injury was to a police officer who was bruised on the arm after being struck with a bottle.

"We attribute the lack of injuries to our use of tear gas," says Kleibecker. "While it is not pleasant, it didn't lead to any serious injuries."

Students solve problems Many students at MSU have taken an active interest in health and safety issues.

A committee made up of faculty, staff and students and headed by the physical plant staff conducts security-related surveys. Security concerns are ranked, and high on the list is lighting. In the past, the survey revealed a need for additional emergency phones, which has been addressed.

More than 100 emergency telephones dot the campus. Students may dial a number, dial 911 or press a red emergency button. If the emergency button is pressed, the phone automatically dials into the central dispatch. "An officer will talk with the person and if we can't establish voice contact, a car is dispatched to check the problem," says Kleibecker.

To address lighting concerns, the group conducts campus walk-throughs in the winter and summer. "They try to pick a dark evening, with no moon, and do the same thing in the summertime," says Kleibecker. They mark off areas and look to upgrade those areas on a rotating basis. They will also entertain requests from the community to look at certain areas.

All lighting upgrades are paid for through a portion of the parking violations fund.

Case closed Still, thieves are nothing if not persistent. Theft is the most frequently committed crime on campus, experts say. At Michigan State, three of the largest parking areas - each holding more than 1,000 cars - often tempt thieves. Recently, the lots were targets of a rash of automobile airbag thefts.

Again, the community policing effort paid off. About eight years ago, an officer decided to enlist student volunteers to watch areas with the highest likelihood of vandalism and theft. Officers spend a lot of time in these areas, "but on busy nights, especially weekends when we have a lot of calls for service, we couldn't do that," says Kleibecker.

The group evolved into Lot Watch, a 20-25-student volunteer organization. The students are given the use of a radio and an unmarked car to sit in.

Students took the airbag theft problem personally, Kleibecker says. During finals week, the busiest period of the semester, the students decided they had had enough - about 200 cars had been broken into by thieves looking to sell airbags to less-than-honest aftermarket dealers. Additional students reinforced the Lot Watch group. "They spotted the thieves in the act, stayed with them until the officers got there," says Kleibecker says. "It cleared up several hundred thefts in the area."

Students are not encouraged to get involved in criminal apprehension. "We frown on that (during orientation)," says Kleibecker. "We tell them to be patient."

The radios provided to the students communicate over the campus police frequency, so everyone monitoring the radio - the dispatch center and police on patrol - hear it immediately. "Students have been involved in a number of situations that have led to arrests," Kleibecker says.

Michigan State confronts the hazards of binge drinking

"Bad consequences flow from binge-drinking," says Doug Tuttle, policy scientist with the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware in Newark.

Alcohol abuse on campus leads to crimes such as theft, rape and drunk driving. In addition, there are social costs and second-hand effects. Unfortunately, such negative effects have little impact on student drinking habits. A September 1998 Harvard School of Public Health report says the number of college students drinking to get drunk increased from 39 percent in 1993 to 52 percent in 1997. The survey questioned 14,521 students in 1997 and 15,103 in 1993. Participants were chosen randomly from 130 colleges across the country.

Overall, 42.7 percent of students surveyed were considered binge drinkers in 1997, a slight decrease from the 44.1 percent in 1993 (mostly attributable to an increase in students who do not drink at all). Binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women.

The number of students who were drunk three or more times in the month prior to answering the survey jumped by 22 percent.

At Michigan State University, school officials hope to reverse the trend. A special task force has compiled 33 recommendations to combat alcohol-related problems.

"One of the things the implementation task force is working on is educating the public about the dangers of alcohol poisoning," says MSU police captain Tony Kleibecker. "We found after an alcohol poisoning death last year that there was a lot of misinformation. A lot of people were of the belief that once they've had too much to drink, once they pass out and start to sleep it off, they are no longer in danger. But the process (of alcohol poisoning) does not stop. If it gets bad, it is crucial that they callan ambulance. We are taking an aggressive, educational approach to get the information out." Such information could save lives.

MSU's proactive approach included a visit last February by law enforcement and academic officials to the Alcohol Summit at the University of Central Florida. Sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the second annual conference drew schools from 19 states to its section for universities and colleges.

At the summit, "We asked, 'What do we do? Where do we start?' " Kleibecker recalls. MSU has attempted to answer those questions through a year of study and research. The school assembled a team of students and administrators, East Lansing city officials and residents, and other professionals from the greater Lansing area to address the alcohol problem. They considered a range of issues relating to health and safety, communication and the social environment in which high-risk drinking occurs.

The group's November 1998 report, "Challenging the Environment of High-Risk Drinking: A Plan for Mutual Respect, Open Communication, and a Healthy Environment," identified two long-range goals: an increase in academic performance and social responsibility among students, and a decrease in the incidence of alcohol-related injury and death.

The report recommends: - Educational sessions for incoming and prospective students. - Parents should discuss responsible decision-making about alcohol consumption with their K-12 and college-age children. - Disseminate information on how to recognize the signs of alcohol poisoning.

- Ensure access to alcohol-related screening, assessment, counseling, referral and intervention for members of the MSU community. - Pilot a "Safe Ride" program. - Based on demand, increase the number of alcohol-free residence halls. - Encourage East Lansing businesses to strictly prohibit underage drinking. - Reduce barriers to students requesting emergency medical services for alcohol abuse. - Promote the designated driver concept. - Develop a method of monitoring the impact on the health, safety, and consequences of drinking and issue a regular report. - The university and city of East Lansing should subsidize alcohol-free events for students.

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