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Notre Dame College police chief believes having officers pedaling on campus makes for a safer campus

By Jeff Piorkowski, special to Sun News , June 13, 2014 at 6:57 PM, http://www.cleveland.com

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Summer and bikes go together.

As it turns out, Notre Dame College Chief of Police Jeffrey Scott is a firm believer that crime fighting and bikes go together, too.

Scott became the college's police chief about a year ago and has since set about making some changes.

For one, the budget that provided for private security officers to cruise the campus and augment the police force at 4545 College Road was used to bring onto the force additional full- and part-time officers.

As a result, there are now eight full-time officers where there were four, and 10 part-timers, where there were six. There also used to be one auxiliary officer at work. Scott has bolstered that number to a current 13, with plans to soon increase to 15.

Training and fitness of officers has also increased because of Scott, whose background includes an MBA, service of eight years with the Mansfield Police Department where he worked as a training sergeant, and most recently time spent at NASA as an incident commander.

Avid about fitness, Scott's past also includes bike patrol training of police officers.

"I've been active in bike patrols for years," said Scott of his enthusiasm for police on bikes. "You can go places on bikes that you can't go with cars. There's also an element of surprise with bikes. Criminals don't hear you coming. I made more arrests on a bike, for things like drugs, then I ever made in a car."

Because of his belief in bike patrols, Notre Dame College will see an increasing number of officers on bikes, especially by the time fall comes and students return to the campus. So far, six NDC officers have gone through bicycle patrol training and certification with Lakewood police officer Michael Fritsch.

"One officer was already certified, and I'm certified," he said of the Notre Dame College police. "So eight of us are certified. Eventually, all of our officers will be."

Scott always includes himself, he said, in whatever his officers do on the job.

"It's part of being a leader," he said. "If I ask them to clean a toilet, I'm going to be cleaning a toilet first. As chief, I see myself as serving my officers."

Bikes, however, serve as more than just an effective way to cover a college campus and to catch criminals.

Scott said that because the bike patrol officers are more visible, crime is deterred.

Then, there's the public relations aspect.

"Every one of them," said Notre Dame College Chief Communications Officer Brian Johnston of the officers, "is a public relations official for the college. And, they represent the college really well.

"Basically, it provides a visual image that this is a safe place to be. It creates a cordial atmosphere."

Notre Dame College Executive Assistant to the President April Kennedy said the bike patrols have been noticeable.

"It's nice to see, every so often, a police officer on a bike," she said. "Other people who work here have noticed them, too, and they've been impressed."

Because the college hosts a number of youth camps during the summer, including one already under way, Scott said, "It's good for the kids to see the officers on bikes.

They can talk to them like friends, and the kids just don't think of police as someone who's there to arrest them."

When considering crime on a college campus, the offense that draws the most attention is rape and/or forcible sex offenses. Other campus crimes also frequently involve theft or burglary and, of course, liquor violations.

For the last full year for which Notre Dame campus crime statistics are available, 2012, there were three reports of forcible sex offenses, with two occurring in 2010 and one in 2011.

Burglaries numbered 18 in 2010 and 14 the following year, but were down to seven in 2012.

Liquor law violations totaled 123 in 2012, up from 79 the year before, and 106 in 2010.

"The same types of crime happen here that happen off campus," said Scott, who added that the campus police have a good working relationship with South Euclid police and other area departments.

Bike patrols, the chief said, can help keep order in another key way. Keeping officers fit can help deter crime.

Scott relates a true story from his past in which a criminal who shot one responding police officer, but not the other responding officer said he did so because one officer was out of shape.

"The guy said he shot the officer who was out of shape because he was an easier target," Scott said. "He didn't shoot the other officer because he was in shape, wore his uniform well and looked like he meant business.

"Since then, I've always made sure when I was on duty that I was fit, my uniform was neat and my shoes were shined."

The bike patrols serve to keep the officers in shape. "They're riding 12-20 miles per day," Scott said.

Scott also plans to issue each officer a pedometer to ensure they're taking at least 10,000 steps per shift.

"It's not that we're trying to be Big Brother, we're just trying to ensure that they're getting the proper amount of exercise they need to stay fit," he said.

Scott said bikes are being purchased for the patrol program, but that help, in the form of monetary donations, are always welcomed. A properly outfitted police mountain bike, with siren, lights, helmet for the officer, maintenance and other needs, costs about $1,800.

Anyone who would like to donate to the college for the purchase of a bike can call Scott at 216-373-5407.

In the meantime, anyone walking on the Notre Dame College campus can do so feeling safe. That's because you never know when an officer might come pedaling by.

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