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Y2K year of change for UAPD

Department moves into new building, awaits passing of torch

The University of Arizona Police Department has a new face and will soon have a new brain.

The department - after operating for 14 years from a group of trailers buried out of view on the south end of the UA campus - moved into its new, highly visible headquarters on East First Street and North Campbell Avenue last month.

Employees and officers at UAPD "couldn't be more thrilled" with a building that has showers and locker rooms, an enclosed courtyard, a weight room and, most importantly, more space, said Sgt. Michael Smith, UAPD spokesman.

But Smith added that change wasn't nearly as intriguing as the change yet to come.

UAPD Chief Harry Hueston turns his badge in on June 30, and a new chief will take the reins.

For 15 years Hueston served students, staff and faculty as police officer, assistant chief of police and chief of police.

Now, Hueston moves on to teach criminal justice as a professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

The search for a new chief moves along at UAPD.

UAPD upgrade

For many UAPD staff and officers, the new building at 1852 E. Second St. is more than a new workplace.

It's a second home.

"The first thing I noticed when we moved into the new building is the difference in attitude from everyone," Smith said. "This is just a pleasant place to work, and everyone seems happy to be here."

The new facility offers a weight room with free weights and combination gym equipment so officers like Smith - who enjoys working out - now have the means to do so right at work.

Right alongside the weight room are showers and locker rooms, an amenity not available at the old UAPD station at 1200 E. Lowell St.

"It is about time," said Sgt. Vince Roberts, supervisor of the traffic division. "That's exactly what I think. It's about time."

The old building featured trailers attached to one another and didn't have showers, and the locker area was a common hallway between dispatch and the detectives' offices.

"This building is the result of 14 years of planning," Hueston said. "This building provides university police employees with the facility to meet not only personal needs, but also to provide the necessary level of policing for our community."

Perhaps the most important upgrade UAPD received was the new dispatch room.

The dispatch room at the old building had antiquated radio equipment, dispatch handled patrons of the department when they entered the building, and the room itself was big enough for just a few people.

But now, the UAPD dispatch room is state-of-the-art.

"I can't say exactly how many departments in the state have the equipment we do, but I can say we are one of a few police stations with the equipment we have," Smith said.

Gone are the bulky radios and transmitters. Gone are the wall-sized switchboards filled with dials, buttons and switches.

The new UAPD dispatch system is totally automated through a computer server. The dispatcher on duty plugs a headset into a port near one of the two desks, answers phones with a mouse-click, switches to other lines with the press of a function key on a keyboard and even routes and follows radio conversations via computer.

"This facility is more ergonomic and provides us with the ability to react more swiftly in times of emergency," said Robyn Betchner, a UAPD police radio dispatcher. "We have more room, and we don't have the vertical lines (vertical plywood panels in the old dispatch room) that make us feel like we are in jail. This place is great."

But there are even more new features in the new dispatch center.

With the click of a mouse, dispatchers can pull up a map of the floor of a building where a fire alarm has been pulled. In seconds, dispatchers can guide rescue employees to the exact scene of an incident.

Another feature is the infusion of a TTY device, a computer integration that allows deaf people to type messages across phone lines. Betchner said the old method required placing a handset on a machine - which she said wasn't completely operational at all times - that would translate her voice into type for the person on the other line.

"We really have a great thing here," Betchner said. "It is one of the more high-tech dispatch rooms in the country, and we have it here for the UA."

Hueston said the new building and high-tech equipment have already set a standard for university police departments.

"This building shows the culmination of more than a decade of blood, sweat and tears by police employees," he said. "We have one of the best facilities in the country here, and everyone really loves it."

Hueston has even recommended, tomorrow and again on Friday at the building's dedication, that it be named for Cpl. Kevin Barleycorn, a UAPD officer who was shot and killed at a party Aug. 24, 1990.

"He (Barleycorn) gave a lot to our community," Hueston said. "I think the amount of effort put into getting the building would reflect that."

Passing the torch

Though Hueston was instrumental in the growth and development of the UAPD over the past 15 years, and though he had a hand in lobbying for the new building, he won't have much time to enjoy it.

Hueston announced in November 1999 that he is resigning from the UAPD effective June 30, 2000.

But even before June 30, Hueston III said he plans to use his vacation time and his last day at the station will be May 12.

He accepted a job at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor in the criminal justice department.

"I want to express my thanks to the UAPD and the university for their support of my position and the UAPD for the last 12 years," Hueston said.

Smith said the change of leadership may be a little harder to judge than the move from one building to another.

"The first six months will be the time the new chief has to get a feel for things," Smith said. "I don't think things will be much different during that time. But when the new chief gets his first chance to put his personal touch on how things work around here, that is when we will see what will happen."

The UA formed a search committee that started with more than 100 candidates for the job and narrowed that number to four - Collier Hill, assistant chief of the Tucson Police Department, Rick Boyd, an instructor at the National White Collar Crime Center in West Virginia, Ronald Seacrist, director of public safety at California State University-Northridge, and Kathy Guimond, chief of police at the University of New Mexico.

Though the candidates are currently in the interview process and the search committee hasn't made a decision yet, Smith said the new chief will be on the job soon.

"I don't think most people really know this, but we are not one of the smaller police forces in Arizona," Smith said. "We are mid-level in size, and I would say it is a pretty difficult job the new chief will fill.

"We will still try to increase the interaction with the UA community, and I think both the change to a new chief and the new building can facilitate that."

As for Hueston's future, Smith said his job at Texas A&M is a good next step for him.

"He has his doctorate," Smith said. "If you were to ask me if his job as chief is a difficult one, I would say it is and that he is well qualified for it. But having a doctorate probably doesn't help him here from day to day. He has a good thing ahead of him."

Dylan McKinley can be reached at Dylan.McKinley@wildcat.arizona.edu.