In the second and last year of his time as West Campus community service officer, Duke police officer Anthony Rush sees many more familiar faces.
"I'm not new at it anymore," said Rush. "Those freshmen I looked over last year moved with me."
Every year, two police officers are selected to fill the positions of community service officers, who patrol the campus in addition to the regular police force. Rush, Officer Steve Wong and others who have been chosen to go into this somewhat different assignment within the department, benefit from this two year "professional development," said Duke University Police Department Maj. Robert Dean.
Rush and Wong's daily routine starts with checking on car, foot and bicycle if anything is going on criminally.
"I keep a visual for if something doesn't look right," said Rush. "I also put myself in a position so that students see me and can ask me questions."
Dean explained that the Duke police department hopes this outreach program allows students to "identify with these officers by name and sight and know they will be there when they need help." Students do not pop out of the woodwork to flag the officers down, however.
"The majority of the student body is not reached by our efforts," said Lt. Tony Shipman, who supervises the officers. "But we keep trying."
Rush, Wong and Shipman have informed residential advisors and residence coordinators that the officers provide talks on safety, crime prevention, rape awareness and alcohol abuse. They address anything from the consequences of alcohol abuse--a service that fraternities and sororities have historically requested--to common sense issues such as protecting valuable property.
"Sometimes students don't know how to properly secure their bike. They buy these cable locks that can be easily cut. Or, somebody with a good lock won't know how to use it and find all that's left is the lock and a front tire," said Dean.
Since the beginning of the year, however, Rush has held a few talks and Wong only one.
"I check my e-mail for requests for talks... several times a day. Whenever I get into the office, I check my voice messages," said Rush. While they are waiting for students to find out who they are and visit their offices--located by the Women's Center on West and in the secondary police station on East--Rush and Wong maintain their role of preventing crime on a campus where it seems to be out of sight, out of mind.
"We're trying to be proactive, not reactive," said Dean. "We want to avoid a crisis situation."
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