Following a string of burglaries and thefts on campus, the St. Edward’s University Police Department is looking to make more changes next fall to meet national standards.

UPD has made several improvements while pursuing accreditation from the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. UPD received a grant to achieve CALEA accreditation by April 2011. CALEA demands criteria for highly respected and effective law enforcement, some of which UPD have yet to meet.

One of the obstacles to overcome is the vacancy in UPD staff, left by Officer Brandon Gilroy. Gilroy resigned after being arrested Feb. 9 for improper photography. Gilroy was charged after taking cell phone images of women in an Austin dressing room. In July, one officer will become a full time employee, but one officer will still be needed.

“We normally operate with 15 officers, but right now we have 13.5,” Chief of Police Rudolph Rendon said. “With July being our target date, we should be able to fill the vacant post.”

UPD recruits officers from police academies in and near Austin. They are in the process of finalizing their list of applicants.

“We’re hiring certified officers, and no experience is required,” Rendon said. “We’re looking for those officers that have excelled in prior service or during the academy and display the kinds of characteristics that we think will succeed in a university environment.”

UPD is coping with the vacancy by paying overtime and with help from the Austin Police Department. Often administrative officers must work in the field to complete the staff.

“Where we’re really hurting right now is night shift,” Rendon said. “They’re doing twice the amount of work and really enjoying what they’re doing, but it does get old. “

Rendon said that the staff decrease has not resulted in reduced security and pointed to UPD’s situation response time, which is shorter now than last year.

Rendon has set the deadline for hiring a new officer at July 1 so he or she can be trained during the summer.

Another challenge for UPD has been the parking garage, where several crimes have occurred over the semester. Motorists were required to swipe ID cards to gain access to the garage, but these plans have been temporarily abandoned.

“It is not very reliable,” Rendon said. “The system goes down every other week almost, so that caused for traffic backup. It was my decision, until we were fully satisfied that the mechanism was working correctly, to keep the gates up.”

Rendon said that the ID swipe would be reinstated in fall 2010.

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement also made recommendations last year for improving UPD. At their recommendation for the dispatch center in Holy Cross Hall, UPD added an automated records management system and upgraded computers.

Among the changes needed in communication are stronger contact with the Austin Police Department and more handheld radios.

“Communication is number one [for achieving accreditation],” Rendon said. “We haven’t fully utilized all of our products that we’ve purchased, and we’re still learning about how to make them work here.”

UPD’s Mazda Tributes are five years old. Rendon said they will be replaced with more durable Impalas this summer.

“We have through April 2011 to meet the deadline, or we lose all our [grant] money,” Rendon said. “There is no doubt in my mind we will achieve it… there are close to 200 different standards, and we’re about two-thirds of the way to accomplishing all of them.”

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