Newly appointed University of Oregon Chief of Police Matthew Carmichael has started holding Student Advisory Council to the Chief meetings monthly in an effort to create a two-way conversation between students and campus safety officers. The meetings are open to the public. The first meeting was held on Oct. 13.
The monthly held discussions, run by UO students, are designed to allow students to ask questions and express concerns about campus safety. Hired UOPD student assistants will set the agenda for each meeting, and pizza and drinks will be provided.
This is just one example of UOPD’s effort to promote engagement between UO students and UOPD officers, Chief Carmichael explained.
“It’s an opportunity for me to listen. Students will come in, and if they have concerns or ideas about enhancing safety on campus, I’ll be their outlet,” Carmichael said.
After each meeting, Carmichael’s goal is that what is discussed during meetings will then be condensed down to working items and posted on UOPD’s website.
“I’ll have a notebook in hand. I’ll listen. I’ll answer any questions. I’m not shy,” he said.
Before Carmichael was hired as the new chief of police, UOPD was already taking the steps to model community policing through a new program developed by Lt. Alice Cary.
Last spring, Lt. Cary implemented the police liaison program within UO housing by stationing Officer Jared Davis in Global Scholars Hall for part of his shift. The program is designed so that UO students’ experiences with UOPD officers are not only in emergency situations, Cary explained.
“It’s personalizing the police department; I think looking beyond the badge would be a good term,” Cary said. “We’re all human and that’s our profession, so it’s not ‘us against them.’ We want to break those barriers down.”
Part of the officer liaison program plan is for UOPD officers to spend 20 percent of their 12-hour shift outside of their patrol car. For example, officers are encouraged to use newly given housing meal points and dine with students, Cary said.
Officer Davis explained that during his two hour shifts at GSH, one of his goals was to be available to all UO Housing residents, not only GSH residents, and talk through any concerns.
“My other goal was just to have a presence there and get students more acclimated to seeing a police officer around, and have it be a situation where we’re not necessarily there for anything negative, we’re just there and available if they need us,” Davis said.
While the program is still in development, Cary explained that hopefully within a month the program will not only include other residence halls, but also extend out of UO Housing and include other available spaces on campus, such as the ticketing booth in the EMU.