Use of USU police escort service declining
The USU Police Department’s escort service is used less every year, and in 2010 a total of 24 people called in to use the service, according to police records.
In 2008, there were 82 calls for the escort service. In 2009, that number dropped to 48.
Police Chief Steven Mecham said the exact reason for the decrease of the service is unknown, but part of it could be because in previous years people have called daily for the service in the winter because they didn’t want to walk in the cold.
“We walk a fine line,” said Capt. Steve Milne.”We want to be there to provide a service but we don’t want to be abused as a taxi service.”
When someone feels uncomfortable or unsafe going from one spot to another on campus they can call USUPD and an officer will escort the person to where they need to go on campus, Milne said.
Students may feel uncomfortable because of ex-boyfriends or because someone is lurking around their car or just because they have a bad feeling they can ask for a police escort.
“We tell people all the time to pay attention to that weird feeling,” Milne said.
When students request the service, all they need to do is give their name, where they are and where they’d like to be escorted to, Milne said.
When students request a police escort they don’t have to explain why they want the escort but it’s suggested that they do, Milne said.
Milne said officers don’t ask for the reason the service was requested because they don’t want to discourage students in any way from using it.
“They don’t need to give us the specifics,” Milne said. “We certainly encourage that if there is specifics, let’s get it documented and let’s follow up on it.”
The reason USUPD likes to get the specifics on the situation is because certain problems can often be solved, Milne said.
Milne described a situation in which a girl keeps getting phone calls from a guy and he won’t stop calling her. In this situation the officer can call the man and tell him the girl wants him to stop calling her. Often times in this situation the girl may be instructed to tell the man that she doesn’t want him to keep calling her and the problem is solved, Milne said.
Mecham said another possible reason for the decrease in the request of the service could be because people just feel safer.
“There’s not any big cases,” Mecham said. “People are just feeling safe.”
Mecham and Milne both said another reason for the drop could be because there’s no one like a “Logan Lurker” like there has been in years past.
“We haven’t had any big issues like that going on,” Mecham said.
Mecham said it might be a good thing that people are using the service less.
“I guess it’s good in the fact that people are feeling safe. But we want people to be safe,” Mecham said. “We encourage people to use it.”
Milne said the escort service is limited strictly to around campus because USUPD doesn’t have the manpower to escort people around town.
The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
– blaze.bullock@aggiemail.usu.edu