From pipe wrenches to nightsticks, UAPD has come a long way in 40 years.

Currently, 43 officers work at the University of Arizona Police Department and at any given time there are at least three officers on patrol.

Now, UAPD is recognized as an official police department, pledged to protect a "city" of 50,000 people, says Sgt. Brian Seastone.

However, in the 1950s there were no police officers at all.

Instead, the campus was protected by "retired volunteers whose most important weapons were pipe wrenches and screw drivers who were expected to fix leaky pipes and perform other maintenance jobs around campus," Seastone says.

UAPD is the only police department in southern Arizona that has national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

The department received the award in 1993 making it the fifth college police department in the nation to receive the recognition. Accreditation is given to only 251 of the more than 17,000 police departments in the United States.

"We have the same problems as a larger department € rapes, thefts, burglaries € but fortunately not the same number," Seastone said.

Seastone credits the change from a department of security guards to real officers as a reason why UAPD officers are now able to function effectively.

"I think we're the envy of a lot of other police departments because of the quality of our equipment and our professionalism," Seastone says.

"As a result of the riots in the '60s, we got better strength and equipment and became a legitimate force by establishing UAPD as a separate, official department," Seastone says.

He adds that in the 15 years he has worked with the department he has seen a change in the average age of officers, going from mostly retired military officers in their 40s and 50s to a younger force in their 20s.

"I feel we have a highly educated force," Seastone says. "(We) encourage education and about eight or nine of us have a degree already. We have one officer with a doctorate, two with masters, and three currently working on their masters."

"All of our officers are full-time, this is their job. They go to school on their own time."

Seastone says universities in the western United States generally have campus police, while most Eastern colleges have "campus security" staff who are not law enforcement officers.

"Many times we can still find people from back East who don't respect what we're doing or our capabilities," Seastone says.

The department has worked with student organizations such as Associated Students and residence hall programs to help inform UA students of UAPD activities.

Undergraduate Sen. Gilbert Davidson, a public management junior, says he knows that several officers have served as student advisers.

"They always do a really good job as advisers."

"I think that sometimes students don't respect (the officer's) jobs and think that the police are out to get them," Davidson said.

This year, the department has started the Adopt-A-Cop program.

Residents are able to meet for "office hours" with a police officer in their hall, like Officer Randy Johnston at Gila Residence Hall.

"I'm really impressed that he's striving to get to know the people in the hall, offering ride-alongs, and coffee talk once a week," says Janna Riggs, a German senior and resident of Gila Residence Hall. "He's trying to help us become more familiar and comfortable with the police department and really trying to help to community."

"It's a chance for students to speak to officers and see that they have real clothes, as well as help the officers understand student concerns we can deal with," Seastone says.

Seastone said the department hopes programs like Adopt-A-Cop will raise student awareness.

"We have a higher degree of performances and expectations than in many occupations."