Thursday, October 23, 1997
The eyes and ears of UCLA
By Rachel Munoz
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s a late Tuesday night, the fog has rolled in from the ocean,
and a slight breeze crackles the fallen leaves, forcing your eyes
to dart in every direction. As you trek home from Powell, alone,
you notice you are only accompanied by squirrels on Bruin Walk.
Ackerman has long since closed, and the only remains from the usual
social scene is Taco Bell wrappers. Feeling a little uncomfortable
with the situation?
Oh, but look to your right. You’ve almost forgotten: a CSO is
walking you home. Forget the crackling leaves, they are only
leaves. Enjoy the rarity and peacefulness of a quiet stroll on
Bruin Walk. Your safety is not in jeopardy because the CSO Officer
is hard at work.
So it goes when working as a CSO, a Community Service Officer,
the "eyes and ears" of the police department.
As a bureau of the University of California Police Department
(UCPD), the CSO Program works for deterrence of crimes, not
intervention. No weapons are used. Instead, each CSO officer is
equipped with a radio link to the police communications center,
which in turn can dispatch police officers, emergency medical
services and the fire department.
"We can summon whoever is needed. We want them to observe and
report," explained UCPD Sgt. John Adams, who manages the CSO
Program. "We don’t want them to get involved."
At only 22 years of age, UCLA’s CSO Program is the largest in
the nation, at approximately 110 students. With only five full-time
staff members, every responsibility at each level in the program is
taken by a UCLA student.
The Escort Service, the core of the program, consists of walking
escorts available from dusk until 1:00 a.m., 365 days a year. The
CSOs in this program can walk any student, faculty, or staff
member, or UCLA visitor anywhere within the boundaries of Sunset
Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard – north and south – and Hilgard
Avenue and Veteran Avenue east and west.
Tim Steuber, a CSO Field Supervisor and fourth-year political
science student, mentions that 40 percent to 60 percent of the
calls for escorts come from Powell Library.
Another choice for evening transportation, run by the CSOs, is
the Evening Van Service. Between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight,
six vans run in clockwise and counter-clockwise routes between
Ackerman, the dorms and the libraries, and Ackerman, the apartments
and Lot 32. A seventh van, affectionately referred to as "Barney"
because of its purple color, is only used during busy periods as
back-up to keep the service running efficiently.
Since the van service is free, and they arrive about every 15
minutes, the Evening Van Service has become a popular choice for
many students.
Matt George, the Evening Van Supervisor and fifth-year history
student, is in charge of keeping things running smoothly for the
vans.
"It’s more of a teaching position," he explains. "I’m always
teaching the new van drivers."
When George was looking for a good job on campus working with
students, he never imagined how many students that would really
entail.
"We transport 900 to 1,200 students a night, Monday through
Thursday," he explained.
But the numbers don’t worry George a bit. "This is a good job at
night and a great way to help the community," he says.
Part of this "community" includes the residence halls. There is
usually a team of CSOs who patrol the buildings as well as the
surrounding areas. Not only do they intend to keep a safe
environment within the halls, but they backup the staff of the
Office of Residential Life.
"(This job) is really exciting," said Angelo Reyes, a CSO and
fourth-year political science student who often patrols the
residential halls.
His friends describe him as an "incident magnet" because every
shift he works brings some sort of action. Some of that past
"action" includes fights, problems with marijuana and
burglaries.
One area where the CSOs hope for very little action is the
parking lots. These specially trained officers, who patrol on
bikes, look for any criminal activity while acting as a highly
visible security officer.
"Super alert" is how Sharon Brady, a CSO and a fourth-year
English student, describes her mood when working her shift as a
Bike Patrol.
Brady knows that she is used as a deterrent for potential crime,
but her involvement with the CSO Program goes far beyond the
parking lots she patrols.
"I really liked to be involved in the community, and I feel that
it is important that people feel comfortable in it," she said. "I
feel that I am working towards finding a solution if it is a
solvable problem."
As a female CSO, Brady receives a lot of inquiries about her
ability to provide safety when working as an escort. Brady simply
explains that she has never felt threatened or been involved in an
incident concerning herself.
"The first night I was working as an escort, I was yelled at by
a transient," Brady said. She admits that the incident was kind of
frightening because it was her first night on the job, but outside
of that she feels very comfortable working as a CSO.
"No one has ever been attacked with an escort," Sgt. Adams
reassures.
Over the past year that Brady has been working, she describes
her job as "really rewarding." She calls the other CSOs a "good
group of people" and often finds herself hanging out at the office
after her shift just to enjoy the company.
Good company is something that all potential and current CSOs
must be capable of.
"Our main thing is public relations," said Steuber. He explains
that students should be able to feel comfortable and converse with
escorts when they walk them home.
"(The CSO Program) offers the community the best view of the
police department," George adds. Because of this, it is important
that CSOs are friendly.
Buildings requiring special access, such as Schoenberg and UCLA
Extension, have hired CSOs to patrol the building and control
access to interior rooms. Others, such as Anderson and the URL,
hire CSOs only to patrol.
Farid Gadallah, a CSO and business economics student who guards
buildings, knows that more effort is involved than just a simple
knowledge of the building layout.
"You have to know every inch of the campus, not only for
information but also if there is an incident," he explained.
Outside of providing safety throughout the UCLA campus, the CSO
Program operates a sub-station in Westwood. The CSOs working out of
this base patrol the Westwood area for preventive measures as well
as sources of information.
Contracts for special details, such as firewatches or special
event functions, have also played a role in CSO service. Recent
events such as the MTV Music Awards and the Infiniti Classic have
used CSOs for watches.
A newly developed system put forth by the CSO Program is STOP,
the Security Tracking of Office Property.
A security plate is sealed to whatever item a student would like
protected – such as TVs, computers or other office equipment, and
only with 800 pounds of force can this plate be removed. If
removed, an "indelible tattoo" chemically etched onto the item
remains, leaving a "Stolen Property" message along with your
company identification number and a security phone number.
The 2-year-old system has worked quite successfully, according
to Sgt. Adams, because the item, with the tattoo, would be
worthless to the thief who could not sell it.
In addition, the item is registered into a S.T.O.P.
international database so that if your piece of property is stolen
the local police is identified.
Due to the many services provided and the constant expansion of
the CSO Program, there are always new officers being hired and
trained.
The process of employmennt includes "an application, an
interview and background check," Steuber explained.
"Then you go through training: classroom learning, field
training and a three-hour final," Sgt. Adams continued. "There is
lots of studying involved."
The standards are high, but it’s not impossible. It has worked
for hundreds of CSOs in past years and continues to turn out
well-trained officers.
To compete with other campus jobs, according to Sgt. Adams, the
pay rates of the CSOs have been raised to $7.18 an hour, with a 32
cent shift differential for night work. The hourly pay increases if
a student is a bike officer or drives the van and is even higher
for a field trainer, administrative clerk or a supervisor.
The CSO Program offers flexible hours, around 15 a week and 10
during finals, and many night shifts.
The close relationship with the UCLA Police Department, while in
a position related to the law, has encouraged many CSOs to consider
the option of a career in law enforcement. Currently there are
eight former CSOs who are now police officers, including Sgt.
Adams.
To request the free services of an escort, concerned individuals
can call 794-WALK.
(Top) Community Service Officer (CSO) and fourth-year economics
student Erick Shin (center) converses with Ramiro Gracia (left) and
Anton Jongeneel at the office late at night, waiting for students
or faculty to call and utilize their renowned escort service.
(Below) CSO trainee Gracia, on the job, walks Amy Kuczynski, a
fourth-year psychology student, from the residential halls to
Powell Library.