University police kick off 'Ask-a-Cop' program

Eric M. Jukelevics Arizona Daily Wildcat Computer science sophomore Jeff Epstein asks Officers Marsha Hogan (left) and Paul Reinhardt (middle) the correct procedure for search and seizure of a vehicle yesterday at the "Ask a Cop Anything" table in the Memorial Student Union.

"I feel like I'm Ann Landers," said University of Arizona Police Department officer Paul Reinhardt.

He and officer Marsha Hogan fielded 53 students' questions about everything from alcohol possession to being robbed.

Many students had questions about past arrests and the UA's Dean of Students Diversion Program. A number of inquiring students also wanted to know about drugs and alcohol, Reinhardt said.

"(They had) questions like, 'can police arrest me if I have a can of beer in my dorm room?'" he said.

Hogan and Reinhardt will be stationed in the Memorial Student Union every Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to allow for personal interactions with students, Reinhardt said.

"Part of our duties is to have good public relations with the university community," he said.

UAPD officers chose to have their table near the information desk in the union because they wanted a location with a large volume of student foot traffic, he said.

"The main thing was trying to find a place where students could see us in a positive light," Reinhardt said.

Students who passed the officers' table had mixed reactions to UAPD's new tactics for public relations.

"It's not going to help me, but it might help a few people who actually ask them questions," said Carlton Allen, a computer science sophomore. "If they (the students) get arrested by a cop they had asked a question to, then they might get let off."

Jenny Smith, an ecology junior, said she was glad that the UAPD was making itself assessable to students. Smith said she has been robbed several times during the last eight months.

"I could use some advice on how to feel protected and what to do to prevent it from happening again," she said.

Jessimy Blasberg, a communication and psychology junior, said the officers might be useful for students who are interested in law enforcement because they could ask the police officers about getting into the field.

But, she did not think the booth would be helpful for the average student.

"Law-abiding citizens already know what to do and non law-abiding citizens don't want to be friends with cops," she said.