If residents living off East Campus have not yet noticed the Duke University Police Department patrolling in their neighborhood, there's a good reason--those patrols haven't started yet.
The patrols, announced at the beginning of the academic year and originally slated to begin in January, are still on hold pending the city's final approval of its contract with the University. DUPD Chief Clarence Birkhead expects the agreement to be ratified at the City Council's meeting tonight.
After the contract passes, Duke patrols will begin in areas surrounding East Campus, but will be limited until DUPD can hire the additional five or six officers it has predicted it will need.
"We will go ahead and provide assistance and patrol coverage in the immediate areas surrounding campus," Birkhead said, "but ideally we'd like to have those officers on board so we can assist the city as much as possible."
The hiring of the new officers has proven more difficult than expected, due to a regional shortage of police recruits.
"We'll hire them as quickly as we can hire them," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. "I'd like it to be a little bit faster, but the issue here, which is getting the authority for Duke police to patrol off campus, has been talked about since I first came to Duke 14 years ago. So [despite] the fact that it isn't moving as quickly in terms of the hiring process... I think it's moving just fine."
Burness noted that many local law enforcement agencies are having difficulty recruiting new police officers, so DUPD is in essence competing with state and local police departments for the same new recruits.
Lt. Norman Blake of the Durham Police Department declined to comment on the status of his organization's current recruiting process, but noted that they were constantly working to lure new officers.
"We're in the process of trying to make our department competitive so we can attract qualified applicants," he said.
While the shortage might mean delays in implementing patrols off East, Birkhead stressed that DUPD would not compromise its hiring standards in order to fill the vacancies more quickly.
"We'll fill the positions as soon as possible--we are aggressively recruiting, but we don't want to recruit to the point where we don't pay attention to our hiring criteria and our standards," he said.
Empty spots in the DUPD might hinder the University's patrols of the neighborhoods around East, but the city police say they will still make sure that the area is safe.
"We will not be relinquishing responsibility for that area--Duke police will be augmenting our patrol," Blake said. "Ultimately we're still responsible for that area because it's still within Durham city limits. We're not giving up anything."
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