University of Alabama - Corolla Yearbook (Tuscaloosa, AL)

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es of and that I ' d have to interview in ,e back seat of the police car. As we left rgeant Freeman, Chuck recalled excit- gly all the good pictures he was sure he d gotten. Yet, I couldn ' t help but feel a tie disappointed. I wonder why? Chuck and I were both surprised the xt day to find out that some friends of (US had instigated a number of pranks e night before to guarantee us some ac- m pictures. From driving on the main lad with their lights off to climbing on p of the Phi Kappa Psi house and trying break in, our friends failed to attract the toper attention that would have gotten iem in jail and in the Corolla. Whether s were in the wrong place at the right le, in the right place at the wrong time, just plain not where the action was I ve yet to figure out. We sure could have ed those pictures though . . . and the Though we did not find the night ac- m , I was able to get enough of the sto- during the day so that students could it some picture of the inside story behind s University Police. The following is the ,ot story I was able to obtain through king with a few police officers: I ' d rather help someone than to do ll3m harm, Sergeant Freeman explained, I ' lough most students think we are out to fi t them. In the eighteen years Sergeant Freeman has spent on the University of Alabama Police Force he has seen a continual growth of distrust and disrespect towards officers by students. Yet he looks at these attitude changes rather optimistically by realizing that the University police officers have to change with the students. Sergeant Freeman sees his job as cen- tered around more of a public relations approach to problems on campus rather than the approach used by regular city police as a figure of authority. In fact, he feels that the University police officer communicates better with the students be- cause he doesn ' t wear a police uniform which constitutes a restricting authority to most students. Though he ' s come up on a lot of things as a University police officer. Sergeant Freeman said, I have yet to use my arm or lay a finger on anyone in anger. Most students don ' t realize how tough our job is. On home football weekends the majority of our police force works about twelve hour days. And then students won- der why we get impatient v»rith them. Those times when Sergeant Freeman does feel the tension mounting up in his job he relaxes with the aid of gospel tunes from his car radio. Chief of Police, Irvin Fields explained that all law enforcement officers are re- quired to complete 240 hours of basic class room training whether they are campus police or city police. As he looks over his career at the Uni- versity, Chief Fields sees it as a very challenging profession for those who like to work with people. Though it ' s very re- warding it demands much patience and understanding. Most crime on campus takes the form of theft of bicycles, batteries, and tape decks. If a student is charged with a misdeameanor he is taken to the city jail. If he is charged with a felony he goes to the county jail. In order to make the campus safer at night for women the Student Government Association has instigated the Student Es- The thought of a hurried, busy police station soon dissolved in the thinness of my idealistic mind. cort Service to help prevent the incident of rape, attempted rape, and assault on campus. The progam offers protection to any woman by making sure she has an es- Police officers take a break out of their routine schedules to discuss the out-of-the- ordinary happenings of the day. University Police 29

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The Beat When booking a night with the University Police in order to get a good story and pictures for the Corolla, my photographer, Chuck Snow, and I thought a weekend night when Alabama was playing football in town would be the ideal situation. Chief Fields was concerned that our persons would be endangered on such a hectic weekend night. After much discussion. Chuck ' s persuasive ability eventually con- vinced Chief Fields that a Monday or Tuesday night wouldn ' t do because of the lack of action on those nights. As it turned out the romantic dream of exciting police action was a far cry from the realities of the Saturday night beat. The lack of immediancy I sensed when arriving at the police station made me wonder if it was really the Saturday night after the Vandy game. I had expected po- lice officers frantically running about, walkie-talkies sounding off all over the place, and the phone ringing constantly As we drove around I couldn ' t help but recall the adventurous thoughts I had regarding this night . . . with a new cry of disaster. Though Ser- geant Freeman looked tired from his all day duty in uniform, the thought of a hur- ried, busy police station soon dissolved in the thinness of my idealistic mind. The two hours we spent with Sergeant Freeman consisted of driving around campus and stopping every once and awhile to check on fellow police officers to make sure they had control of the situation they were involved in. These stops allowed Chuck to take use of all the time he need- ed to take pictures, and give me enough time to ask Sergeant Freeman a few ques- tions. As we drove around I couldn ' t help but recall the adventurous thoughts I had regarding this night on the beat — thoughts of thousands of horrible crimes and criminals that Chuck would get pic- Sergeant Freeman has been with the University police force for eighteen years. He has given his all to make the University safer for students. 28 University Police

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Beat cort to walk her to or from her dorm. Chief Fields stressed that there have only been three occurences of reported rapes on campus since 1971. But even one rape is a severe problem that a solution must be found for. Parking is the major problem on campus and this is where the officer ' s public rela- tions tactics come in full force. Having to explain to a law student that he has to park on the dark side of the Law Building because all the parking spaces are taken up by basketball fans, and helping a fe- male student change her dead battery are just a few examples of the situations they are confronted with regularly, battery are just a few examples of the situ- ations they are confronted with regularly. Rarely do they use their flashing lights or sirens. But Sergeant Freeman said, you ' d be shocked at all the people who don ' t yield to a blue light or siren. A recent FBI analysis placed the University in the top ten in almost all cate- gories of both violent and property crimes . . . Though students see the University Po- lice as those who are always harboring their fun, they must keep in mind that the University police force was put on campus to protect and help students. Full cooperation with them is the first step in understanding the responsibility the Uni- versity Police have towards the campus community. | Al Posten shares a joke with Police Offi- cer Jimmy Stanifer. Most students feel that the officers are very intuned to stu- dent needs and n ake an effort to become friends with them, although at times it seems the opposite. Police Officer Larry Montgomery takes time out of his patrol to check in with the station. Montgomery feels a strong concern for the safety of the student and does his best to nnake the campus free of crime. 30 University Police