Offering free coffee, smiles and safety information, Boston University Police Department officials spent Monday through Thursday at the George Sherman Union Link as part of their second annual Safety Week.
Safety Week, which will continue until today at 2 p.m., was organized to give students a chance to get to know officers, said Deputy Director of Public Safety Scott Paré in an interview.
Some students, he said, see BUPD officers in a negative light instead of considering the officers’ efforts to protect them.
“We are an ally and not an enemy. . .Our goal is to be more approachable,” Paré said.
Account Executive Sara Sheehy, a College of Communication senior, said that Safety Week has been successful so far in fostering positive connections between the BUPD and students.
“[Officers] are really just there to help and protect you. [Safety Week] breaks down the stigma…there’s been a lot of energy around [the Link],” Sheehy said.
COM senior Ariel Gaknoki, another account executive, said she agreed that students and officers are connecting during Safety Week.
“There’s a huge amount of traffic [in the GSU link] … Students pick up a card, they talk to the BUPD,” Gaknoki said.
In addition to forming student-officer connections, Paré said that BUPD is looking to expand its social media presence this week.
Sheehy said on Monday that the BUPD’s Facebook page gained 200 more likes and that students were retweeting the BUPD Twitter handle @BUPDproblems.
Officers are also spending the week educating students on BUPD’s safety programs, Ganoki said.
“[Those programs] can help students protect themselves when the BUPD is not around,” she said.
The BUPD also distributed literature on Text Tipline, a service where students can contact the BUPD anonymously by sending a text message to tip411 if they find themselves in a dangerous situation like an out of control party.
“It’s a really safe option … It doesn’t look like you’re calling the police,” Ganoki said. “Text Tip is the biggest safety program.”
Sheehy said that they have promoted other BUPD services, such as the bike and laptop registrations, since BUPD has seen laptop and bike thefts become a major problem on campus.
“There are a ridiculous amount of laptops stolen, bikes being stolen,” she said.
Paré said larceny is the “number one” crime on campus.
Hajar Habbach, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that it’s good that officers are putting themselves out there.
“If [the officers] are more accessible, people will use them more,” Habbach said. “They all seem really nice.”
CAS junior Kelsey Bilsback said that university police departments tend to be transparent and Safety Week puts a face to the BUPD name.
“It gives [the officers] a personality almost … You usually don’t see police officers,” she said.
Ravneet Ghumman, a senior in CAS, said that while the BUPD is doing a good job addressing these on campus issues, there are off campus issues that concern students as well.
“The BUPD doesn’t go [to the Esplanade], … but a lot of students go there for running or jogging,” Ghumman said. “There’s been concern with the recent attacks.”
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