A student is arrested outside Willard in 2007 following a dorm infraction. Arrests have increased in 2009. (CU Independent file/ Brandon Labadie)
Every dorm resident understands there are rules to follow when living on campus, but when rules are broken the CU Police Department steps in.
“We have a priority on residence hall security,” said Molly Bosley, CUPD public information officer.
From Jan. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2008 the police department made 230 arrests and filed 209 reports, Bosley said. This year, during the same time frame, CUPD made 377 arrests and filed 325 reports. Each arrest denotes a single person, but there can be multiple people listed in each report.
The increase is not due to a rise in crime, but a stronger Community Safety Operations program, Bosley said.
“Over the past year there has been an evolution in the CSO program,” Bosley said. “We’ve expanded it with changing how it operates.”
The CSO program formed last fall after uniting the former Community Service Aid program, Housing Night Security and CU Security, according to the CU-Boulder Police Department Web site.
The Web site lists the major duties of the Residential Unit of CSO as patrolling the dorms and documenting violations of university policy. By working with other groups on campus, like the Housing and Dining Services, CSO more effectively fulfills these duties, Bosley said.
Under the new enforcement, alcohol-related cases decreased from 35 percent in 2008 (from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30) to 28 percent this year, but cases related to controlled substance charges jumped from 20 percent to 45 percent, Bosley said.
She said there is no particular reason for this jump in controlled substance charges that can be cited at this time.
“We haven’t identified anything, we really don’t like to speculate why crime is occurring unless there is something definitive,” Bosley said.
Kelli Green, a 23-year-old senior environmental studies major, said she agrees with the stronger enforcement.
“I am 100 percent against [smoking marijuana in the dorms],” Green said. “I’m allergic to it and it sucked when I was a freshman when people smoked. The smell was everywhere and I had to stay away.”
Eighteen-year-old open-option major Matthew Lesniak was recently reported for illegal possession and consumption of alcohol, according to the CUPD Crime Blotter.
Lesniak said he sees the increased dorm ticketing differently.
“My feeling is that they are giving tickets in order to ameliorate CU’s name,” Lesniak said. “Presence of alcohol and marijuana should not be a violation. The school is just trying to get students to rat on other students.”
Lesniak said he believes the problem is students treat their rooms like private property, but patrollers check rooms at the slightest suspicion.
Due to his experience, Lesniak said he plans to be more cautious in the future.
“I am definitely going to be much more careful with what I do, not drinking in the dorms anymore,” Lesniak said.
The Community Safety Operations Web page on the CU Police Department Web site can be accessed at:
http://www.colorado.edu/police/safety/cso.html.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Rose Heaphy at Josephine.heaphy@colorado.edu.
