Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

Fall 2000 ushers in a new UA Police Department

Arizona Summer Wildcat

New chief, modern facility make UAPD high tech

The University of Arizona Police Department will start the year with a new police chief, new headquarters, new recruits and a new, interactive Web site.

The selection of a new chief from over 200 applicants has been narrowed down to two primary candidates, said Sgt. Rolf Averill.

Remaining candidates are Anthony Daykin of the Tucson Police Department and Kathy Guimond of the University of New Mexico Albuquerque Police Department.

Daykin is an assistant police chief at TPD and has been with the department since 1972. Guimond is the Chief of Police at UNMPD and has held the post for four years.

A final selection for the position will be made in the next few weeks

The department hopes to have the candidate start the job before the fall semester begins, Averill said. There should not be any significant changes in the department following the new chief's arrival, said Sgt. Michael Smith, UAPD spokesman.

The new UAPD headquarters is located on the corner of North Campbell Avenue and East First Street and was finished at the end of last semester.

The move gives the UAPD one central location instead of the two separated buildings.

"It's a state-of-the-art facility that combined our department and has all the bells and whistles," Smith said.

One of the more significant changes the new facility makes possible is internal communication capabilities.

On-site locker room facilities and nicer amenities make the new department superior to the old modular units located on East Lowell Street.

As a possible extension of the Ask-a-Cop program, the UAPD is changing its Web site to be more interactive and informative. Students could be able to ask questions of the campus police through the site, Smith said.

A feature Smith would like to see included is a bulletin announcing potentially dangerous individuals around campus, such as "peeping toms."

An announcement bulletin would allow officers another way of informing the student population aside from calling all the sorority houses on campus.

The department just finished a recruiting run and will be sending the new recruits to a training academy in August. Another recruiting run will be made later in the year. The high turnover rate is a result of the UAPD being considered a starting ground, Smith said.

The average officer lasts two or three years before leaving for larger jurisdictions or other careers and a possible solution could be looking to the UA for future members of the force.

"To this point we have done a poor job recruiting in our backyard," he said.