A Public Safety officer may become the new chauffeur for students walking home from house parties.

Officers will drive, walk and ride bikes through the neighborhoods around campus to keep crime down when Syracuse University kicks off its ‘orange watch’ program Wednesday. It will be the first time Public Safety will have a regularly scheduled presence off campus seven days a week.

‘The focus is going to be on a presence of Public Safety officers and on the deterrence of crime,’ said Interim Chief Tony Callisto, who will be interviewing for the permanent position before a panel of students today.

The new patrols will include three off-campus areas — the east neighborhood to Westcott Street and Thornden Park; the West lots and north of campus to East Genesee Street; and the area south of campus, including the Vincent Apartments and Thurber Street.

One officer will cover each patrol from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday. On weekend nights, there will be five patrol posts and a supervisor, with the extra posts added to the east and south sides of campus, Callisto said.

‘Wherever there’s significant student rental occupancy, you’re going to see DPS cars patrolling those areas,’ he said. ‘Students will relatively quickly start to see an increased presence and increase in patrols.’

Though Public Safety officers will be patrolling the area, they have limited jurisdiction on public property, Callisto said. Public Safety can act if they witness a crime being committed, but must call the Syracuse Police to report crimes and incidents before being granted permission to act while off campus.

The patrols will most likely not lead to an increase in open container and noise violations, as officers will be performing security, service and crime deterrence roles — rather than enforcement, Callisto said. They may even offer students a ride home if they are walking alone.

The ‘orange watch’ program will provide a 30 percent increase in Public Safety presence off campus on weekdays and a 65 percent increase on weekends, Callisto said. Last semester, one Public Safety officer patrolled Euclid Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights working with the Syracuse Police Department’s Neighborhood Safety Patrol program.

The Neighborhood Safety Patrol has two police officers covering the neighborhood east of campus in four-hour shifts on weekend nights during the academic year, Callisto said.

The new patrols call for three full-time Public Safety officers and 10 part timers. Funding for the program will come from general university funds, said Kevin Quinn, vice president for public affairs.

The idea behind ‘orange watch’ started when Chancellor Nancy Cantor asked members of her cabinet to work with Callisto in December to increase Public Safety staffing during critical hours, Quinn said.

Published on April 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm