2008 Woodie Awards
What does Public Safety do? What are their policies? The Collegian follows Joe to see
J. Harry Painter and Brandon Elefante follow Joe Arone around for a Friday night shift
J. Harry Painter
Issue date: 10/24/06 Section: News
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The answer to the former, for most of us, is quite frankly, next to nothing. The answer to the latter was answered last Friday night, as The Collegian witnessed a typical night in the life of Field Training Officer Joe Arone.
Friday night's timeline:
10:00 p.m., on his way over to the lower townhouses, Arone passed fellow officer Tom Marovich in the middle of a routine parking citation; a vehicle had been left unattended in the parking lot, obstructing the path of oncoming vehicles.
10:40 p.m., Arone arrived to check on a toga party taking place in Ageno East. The party was under control, so he moved on.
10:45 p.m., he was stopped on the way toward Becket Hall by a female who had lost a purse containing her Saint Mary's identification card and her keys, among other items. Arone referred her to the front gate.
10:55 p.m., Arone was alerted to a 911 call from the second floor of De La Salle. After checking with the caller, the call was revealed to be an accident.
11:10 p.m., Arone returned to the front gate, where he found Sargeant Gonzalo "Gonzo" Silva having words with a driver. The driver was cited for sharing a fraudulent identification with a family member in a separate vehicle as well as lying to Public Safety.
11:25 p.m., Arone was made aware of a purse recovered at the front gate. After a brief discussion on the phone, this purse was found to be a different purse from the one he had been made aware of earlier in the evening.
11:45 p.m., a man requested to speak to Arone. The man wanted a job reference from Arone.
Arone was summoned to the Hearst Art Gallery to allow a maintenance worker entry into the building. 11:55 p.m., Arone arrived and let the man in.
12:00 a.m., an alarm was activated inside the Hearst Art Gallery. Arone expressed frustration at the noise.
The Resident Advisor on the first floor of Claeys North called at 12:30 a.m. to complain that her residents ignored repeated warnings to quiet down.
Five officers on duty at the time, including Arone, arrived at Claeys North to check the incident. 12:35 p.m., they entered a room on the second floor of the hall. Several students, all minors, were discovered in the presence of alcohol. The alcohol was confiscated and drained.
12:55 a.m., the officers received a noise complaint time from Ageno C.
1:00 a.m., several students were located in the building. Drug paraphernalia, including a beer bong, were confiscated. A bag of marijuana was also confiscated. A student was found passed out and another tried to evade the officers.
Down to the nitty-gritty
J. Harry Painter: What is Public Safety (PS)?
Joe Arone: PS is a department that provides the security and safety of the campus, student and residence life, faculty and staff, and maintains the overall security of the campus.
JHP: What is their mission statement?
JA: To provide a level of understanding of the Lasallian mission; also the academic mission….To follow the guidelines of the campus student handbook, and to assume the continuance of education.
JHP: How many people are on duty at any given point of the day?
JA: During the daytime we'll have four administrative officers and three PS officers. During the night we'll have between two and three. Friday nights and Saturday nights we're a little stronger.
JHP: How many officers do we have in total?
JA: Right now 10 officers and three sergeants, one lieutenant, one chief and two community service officers.
JHP: What are the policies at the gate?
JA: The front gate has its cones out at 9:30. The gate is down at 10 p.m. Everyone is required to show ID before being let in. We're trying to establish an understanding [about the strict security policies].
JHP: Why has there been an increase in security at the gate?
JA: It's well overdue. It's real important; we want everybody to know that we're watching them come onto campus.
JHP: What is the party policy?
JA: Everybody over 21 is permitted to have alcohol, but only what's permitted in the handbook. The parties are over at 12:00 [a.m.]. We want people to take responsibility of drinking socially and responsibly.