42 cops ‘ 132 acres

Editor’s note: The following report is based on a Nov. 18 ride-along with an officer of the Boston University Police Department.

The Boston University Police Department is one of the largest and most intricate private policing institutions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, protecting not only BU students and faculty, but also all BU property in Massachusetts, the Boston Medical Center in Roxbury and the local neighborhoods surrounding the campus.

Founded in October 1947, BUPD’s 42 state-trained officers patrol more than 132 acres with an emergency response time generally under three minutes to any location on the Charles River Campus, according to its website.

The urban setting of BU’s campus requires more sophisticated policing department, combating armed robberies, theft, gang warfare and burglaries, BUPD officials said.

“This is not a closed campus — this is an urban environment,” BUPD Sergeant Jack St. Hilaire said. “There was a strong armed robbery at Shaw’s where the suspect was previously tried for manslaughter, and at the scene, assaulted a police officer.”

BUPD also works closely with the Boston Police Department, helping the city restore order during the 2004 Red Sox World Series riots, for example.

But one of BUPD’s growing concerns is theft. Police Chief Thomas Robbins, who was appointed in April, is using new methods to combat the growing rate of thefts, St. Hilaire said.

“Theft is the biggest problem facing the BUPD,” St. Hilaire said. “Captain Robbins is implementing a new proactive police model using geographic-based policies and crime analysis.”

Away from the Charles River Campus, drug use and other crimes warrant extra BUPD presence.

“We’re focusing on the Medical Center bordering Roxbury,” St. Hilaire said. “Illegal possession of narcotics is a major problem, as well as regular crime associated with a city hospital.”

According to Department of Education crime statistics released by BUPD, there were 120 serious crimes committed on campus during 2005, including forcible sex offenses, aggravated assault and arson.

Being involved with so many dangerous situations 24 hours a day, seven days a week is a stressful and demanding work environment. BUPD Officer Kevin Reen is in his fifth year at the BUPD, hired after graduating from the Norwich Academy Corps of Cadets in 1999.

He works the morning patrol, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for four consecutive days before taking two days off.

“At 7:30 a.m. each morning, roll call is delivered,” Reen said. “The sergeant goes over the past activities and goals of the day.”

According to Reen, the morning shift deals mostly with the previous day’s calls and unresolved issues.

“It’s unknown what is going to happen,” he said. “You try to be more reactive while trying to be proactive at the same time.”

Sunday Morning Patrol

Reen, a Special Olympics of Massachusetts volunteer, began his Nov. 18 morning patrol at BUPD headquarters at 32 Agganis Way, heading west down Commonwealth Avenue to the Boston Medical Center.

“Commonwealth Avenue is the basic patrol,” he said as he drove. “The Medical Center, the Charles River, Beacon Hill and Dartmouth Street are other locations.”

After a quick visual inspection of Charles Street, Reen slowed down near a university-owned City Convenience store across the street from the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Street.

“We drive by to make sure everything looks normal,” Reen said of the BU-associated convenience store chain. “Sometimes I might get out and go into the store to make sure everything is okay.”

After securing the store, he headed south to Boston Medical Center, radioing dispatch to let them know where he was patrolling.

“They know where I am, so that if there is a call around the area, I can respond,” he said.

Boston Medical Center is located near South Boston and Roxbury, two Boston areas known for high crime rates.

“There is a high level of crime and narcotics in and around Harrison Avenue,” Reen said.

BUPD, in conjunction with the Boston Police Department Drug Unit, has been working in Roxbury to reduce the presence of narcotics in the area, making arrests and stepping up patrols.

In South Boston, BUPD patrols BU Medical Center buildings that run to the 500 block of Harrison Avenue, and across a half mile in either direction toward Washington Street, Harrison Avenue and Albany Street, Reen said.

Heading back to BUPD headquarters from South Boston, Reen conducted a visual inspection of Massachusetts Avenue, even though the area is outside of BUPD jurisdiction.

“We get our powers from Suffolk and Norfolk Counties and the Massachusetts State Police,” he said, adding that BUPD’s jurisdiction is limited to the Charles River Campus and other BU properties throughout the Commonwealth. “If we see something suspicious out of our jurisdiction, we’ll call dispatch and they’ll let Boston Police know.”

However, for places under BUPD’s authority, including Gardner Street and other locations west of the BU campus, there is a set procedure to handle situations.

“We might get a call from someone in or around a party saying that it is getting out of control,” Reen said. “We’ll send in units and notify other authorities, mainly the Boston Police. We’ll then all go together and get in control of the situation.”

From Quiet to Busy in a Heartbeat

Although Sunday may have been a quiet morning, things quickly picked up around 11:30 a.m.

Reen was called to a fire at 186 Bay State Road. He put on his lights and sirens and raced down Commonwealth Avenue.

Halfway to the location, the call was canceled, but Reen still wanted to provide additional assistance if needed.

Reen met two Boston Fire Department trucks and a Boston Police car at the scene. Firefighters soon exited the building, declaring it safe to move back in.

“You let training and experience take over,” he said about responding to a call. “It becomes second-nature and helps in making the right decision and de-escalating the situation.”

Reen said he is always prepared to face an armed criminal, though such situations occur less than 10 percent of the time.

“Any call you go to, if there is a chance of violent action being taken out, in your mind, you never know who has what,” he said. “That person could be carrying a gun and a knife, and you don’t know.”

Not 10 minutes after the Bay State Road fire call, Reen was called to a medical emergency at Warren Towers.

Reen pulled up in front of the building and immediately retrieved a heart defibrillator and first aid kit from the back of the cruiser

Inside the dormitory, Reen found a girl lying on a couch in a student lounge. He approached the victim calmly, asking her questions to get some sense of what happened to her.

“How are you doing? What is your name?” Reen asked the victim.

In a short amount of time, Reen was able to determine the victim’s name, age and phone number. He concluded that she felt dizzy while walking down the hall, then fainted and hit her head on the floor, probably due to lack of sleep and food.

“All BUPD officers are trained as first responders,” he said. “Four to five are EMTs, certified in first aid and CPR.”

Two paramedics from Mercy Ambulance arrived on the scene and transported the victim to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for further care.

Documenting Every Call

Every time BUPD officers respond to crimes or emergencies, they log it into the computer system at BUPD headquarters, as Reen did after the medical emergency at Warren Towers.

BUPD uses a computer program called QED to log all of their calls. The secure network is accessible to police departments across the country, Reen said.

“In the program, you check off if it was a medical assistance, the date, the time, when it started and ended, property loss and damage and other such information,” he said.

Whenever a call comes into BUPD headquarters, the officer at the desk takes down the given information, dispatches the call to the nearest officer on duty and logs the call into the computer system. These logs are then made available to the media and the public.

However, every victim has the right to protection and can have their names withheld from any report, Reen said.

Handling Arrests

When a BUPD officer makes an arrest, many steps are taken to process and ensure the wellbeing of the suspect.

“We bring the suspect back to BUPD, where he or she is booked,” Reen said. “We take down the suspect’s date of birth, social security number and home address. The suspect is then fingerprinted, pictured and read his or her rights.”

If the arrest and booking are made during the day, the suspect is transported to a municipal court.

“If you were to draw a line from 700 Commonwealth Ave. down to the Hillel House, everything east would go to Roxbury District Court, and everything west would go to Brighton District Court,” Reen said.

Once booked at the appropriate district court, the suspect is put in jail. Any evidence found during an investigation is collected, stored and signed out to the authorities who need it.

“There was an arrest for a break-in and entry,” Reen recalled. “A suspect was caught by an officer in the act of breaking into a car with a hammer. They arrested the suspect and stored the hammer as evidence. The officer was later summonsed to court as a witness, so the officer went up to the evidence officer, signed out the evidence [and] brought it with him to court. Afterwards, he put it back in the locker for safekeeping. At the end of the case, evidence in storage is either removed, destroyed or released.”