Dear Chief Hay,

In an Aug. 16th Hatchet article, you noted that one of your primary goals is to learn UPD’s strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly. While we don’t presume to know more than your new department, The Hatchet’s editorial board considered your plan and has compiled a list of areas in which UPD should improve.

UPD has promoted its 4-RIDE shuttle service to increase students’ safety while walking across campus late at night. But in practice, it is notorious for being plagued by a slow response time, especially on weekends and nights of inclement weather. In the same Aug. 16th interview, you stated that you are aware of the time complaints. But you should expand the 4-RIDE program so that students who feel uncomfortable with their surroundings can reach a 4-RIDE dispatcher, be picked up and escorted home quickly. UPD should also make it clear that a student waiting on hold for a 4-RIDE does have the option of calling the direct police line if he or she feels he or she is in imminent danger.

UPD is also tasked with notifying students of crimes committed on campus, and one way in which it does so is through Crime Alerts e-mails describing the incident. But Crime Alerts are not always sufficient in providing the context of the crime, such as whether or not there is an increase in similar incidents. When students are bombarded with Crime Alerts, it can appear that there is an increase in crime on campus, but this is not always the case. Therefore, UPD should release a monthly crime digest objectively putting incidents into context, using comparable statistics from previous months and years. This would increase transparency while making information for student awareness more accessible.

While the crime digest can draw attention to trends in campus incidents, we would be remiss if we did not draw attention to an area of campus that is often the location for such incidents: the area surrounding the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. This problem area has been the site of purse and phone snatchings, and criminals will often simply flee into the Metro. Therefore UPD should maintain strict supervision of that area.

Fostering a comfortable relationship between students and UPD officers is not always easy, but if done well, it will promote better communication and may increase the chance of a student reporting an incident on campus. A program that is currently in place, but that should be expanded, is the Adopt-an-Officer program. This program enables students to get to know the officers who patrol their residence halls, and develops a necessary sense of community. But this program is not equally effective within all residence halls, and its implementation needs to be uniform.

In light of the recent accusations of racial discrimination by the University, this is obviously an aspect of UPD that you must examine. On the heels of new leadership, a new era of equality and respect should follow. The internal workings of the department greatly affect the professionalism and effectiveness of the police across campus. Once you look into these claims, you should deal with them decisively and ensure similar incidents do not arise again.

As GW embarks on a new era of leadership within the University Police Department, it is necessary to identify areas in which the department needs to improve. We hope that with these improvements, you are able to promote a favorable working environment for your staff and ensure students are protected on campus.

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