DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY
2018
R E P O R T A N N U A L
Pursuing excellence in public safety while moving forward building community
GET IN TOUCH
Iowa State University Department of Public Safety Police Non-Emergency 515-294-4428
HelpVan/SafeRide 515-294-4444
Parking 515-294-3388
Emergency 911
FOLLOW US @ISUPD 02
CONTENTS OPENING LETTER
05
ABOUT US
09
ENGAGEMENT & INCLUSION OFFICER
11
NEW HIRES
15
ATHLETIC LIAISON OFFICERS
17
THE ROLE OF PARKING DIVISION
21
SOCIAL MEDIA
25
START BY BELIEVING
31
GUARDIAN VS WARRIOR MENTALITY
35
CHOOSE YOUR RIDE
41
Published in partnership with the Iowa State Daily in May 2019 Cover: Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
03
04
Opening letter Dear Iowa State University community members, Each year the Iowa State University Department of Public Safety (ISU DPS) does a great deal of work on campus in partnership with the community. ISU DPS is committed to providing a safe and secure environment where students have the ability to learn and grow without disruption. ISU DPS continues to foster and build relationships with all areas of the community. In spirit of our continued community relationship building efforts, we once again collaborated with the Iowa State Daily to publish the 2018 annual report. It is the desire of both DPS and the Daily to inform you about efforts to keep campus safe and gain a better understanding of what it takes to
do that. In this publication, you will see a variety of graphics, photos and stories outlining the work of DPS. With the department consisting of the university police, the parking division and the Sexual Assault Response Team, there was a lot to cover. We felt this approach to an annual report continues to fit the overall style of the department given our relationship with the overall community. We hope this publication gives you some perspective about the status of safety on our campus and the initiatives the department feels most passionately about. Sincerely, Michael Newton, Chief of Police/Associate Vice President Iowa State University
05
2018
BY THE NUMBERS
21,812 356
Calls for service
Outreach eve
2,287
nts
Extra patrol
2 1 8 , 21 ngers e s s a p e id r e f Sa
4,670 traffic st op s
1,573 new ca ses
7 0 8 311 arrests s
fire alarm
1,267
Total charges filed
About us The Department of Public Safety at Iowa State University is a team of law enforcement and parking professionals working in partnership with the university community to improve the quality of life by enhancing safety, personal security and campus access services for students, faculty, staff and visitors. The police department has 41 sworn, state-certified police officers and 15 full-time civilian staff. The parking department has 14 full-time civilian staff. Both parking and police employs a number of ISU students
»»Mission: To create a safe and secure learning and working environment by providing proactive police and parking services and a high level of preparedness for the university community. The philosophy of community-oriented customer service is instrumental to the manner in which the department functions and operates. Our team is committed to maintaining a high level of professionalism.
»»Core Values: (RICHES) Respect Being able to recognize the inherent worth of all by treating people as they should be treated, with understanding and compassion. Integrity Having the honesty and moral courage to act reliably and responsibly by being a positive role model.
Caring Having the sensitivity to see the needs of others and demonstrating compassion for all people. Honor Having the esteem, respect and reverence for our personal and professional family, as well as our fellow citizens. Excellence The personal and professional standards through which all of our behaviors, performance and attitudes shall be judged. A continual journey, not a destination. Service Putting responsibilities before selfinterest, performing duties to meet the needs of others, promoting partnerships to identify and solve problems, doing what is right for the community.
09
Meet the new
ENGAGEMENT & INCLUSION OFFICER By Lacey.Westburg @iowastatedaily.com Engagement and inclusion have become more important in recent years with underserved communities stepping out into the light. Many schools and colleges have made engagement and inclusion one of their top priorities by encouraging and teaching the topics to their students and staff. Natasha Greene is the full-time engagement and inclusion officer(EIO) for the ISU Police Department who strives to educate students, faculty and staff about all that an EIO can offer. Greene graduated from Iowa State in 2012 with a degree in psychology. She began working at ACCESS in Ames, a nonprofit for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. During her time with ACCESS, she found that when the officers showed genuine concern and empathy for the survivors, it boosted their morale and helped with their recovery immensely. That’s when Greene decided that she wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement.
Greene started working at Iowa State in 2015 as a night patrol officer, and one particular experience after the Ferguson, Mo., shooting occurred remains locked in her memory. She pulled over an African-American man for suspicion of drunk driving and performed a standardized field sobriety test. But she noticed the man growing more and more anxious and tense. While Greene said she was being as kind and considerate as she could be, the man was still terrified about being around an officer. Greene asked the man if there was anything she could do to make him feel more comfortable, to which he responded, “No, I’m so sor r y. I’m just so terrified that you’re going to shoot me.” In that heart-breaking moment, Greene knew that something had to be done to ensure that everyone felt safe enough to reach out to police and law enforcement in their times of need, regardless of their identity.
11
Greene began working on the EIO team to help educate people about engagement and inclusion within the department. The goals of the EIO team are to ensure public safety within the university regardless of how anyone identifies. The team also makes it a point to build and establish relationships with students in order to gain their trust.
The team was formally created when the diversity and inclusion liaison and the LGBTQIA+ liaison combined efforts to form the official EIO team. The goal of the team was to build trust and rapport with underser ved communities or communities who have historically not had trusting relationships with law enforcement.
“A LOT OF THE TIMES THAT WE HOLD THESE CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THERE ARE IN DISAGREEMENT, BUT THAT IS LITERALLY THE POINT OF HAVING THEM.”
In the past the ISU Police Department had a multicultural liaison on staff, but students and faculty asked the police department for more. While all of the department’s officers were practicing engagement and inclusion, the department began striving for these new initiatives with a formal position.
Campus Conversations is one of the activities that is free and open to all students, faculty and the Ames community. Campus Conversations focus on a subject and discussions are led by guest speakers or faculty members who may have knowledge or experiences on the topic.
-OFFICER NATASHA GREENE
12
The EIO team educates students and faculty through a variety of programs and on-campus activities or informational booths.
NATASHA GREENE Engagement and Inclusion Officer
One of the Campus Conversations revolved around sexual identity and orientation. Another conversation that occurred around finals week of the fall semester covered mental health and well-being to ensure students are taking care of themselves as well as their grades. Greene discussed the impact of these conversations about inclusion and diversity and those regarding any of the phobias that may be in the community, whether it be racism, transphobia or something similar. “A lot of the times we benefit from getting together and talking about it in a way that isn’t putting more labor on the oppressed group by getting some shared education and knowledge,” she said. When “we hold these Campus Conversations, a lot of the people there are in disagreement, but that is literally the point of having them.” Holding these educational seminars sparks a conversation in a safe and protected environment, which encourages anyone of any identity
to attend, Greene said. Many times, people fear what they do not know, which is why it is so important to educate others and make people feel comfortable asking those questions that can prove to be more challenging than others. “Engagement and inclusion are one of those things that are like peanut butter and jelly. You can’t have one without the other,” Greene said . “We all benefit by striving for a life that is more inclusive with justice built for ever yone . “My life is much richer because of the infor mation that I have and the social circle that I choose to involve myself with.”
13
CALLS FOR SERVICE
1.TRAFFIC STOP /ENFORCEMENT 2.OUTREACH /COMMUNITY SERVICE
3.EXTRA 4.GENERAL PATROL COMPLAINTS 5.SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 6.FOLLOW UP 7.ALARM 8.DRUGS & ALCOHOL 9. THEFT/BURGLARY /PROPERTY CALLS
10. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY
ISUPD
NEW HIRES POLICE: Administrative Assistant 3 Police Officer Clery Manager Police Officer Police Officer Police Officer
Heather Forburger Troy Bliss Alice Wisner Karime Massaro Jalen Townsell John Susie
March 1, 2018 April 17, 2018 June 18, 2018 August 13, 2018 December 11, 2018 December 10, 2018
POLICE PROMOTIONS: Lieutenant Lieutenant Police Sergeant Police Sergeant
Chris Burrows Jason Rieder Ryan Meenagh Zach Deutmeyer
May 16, 2018 May 16, 2018 June 29, 2018 June 29, 2018
DISPATCH: Public Safety Dispatcher I Abigail Birdwell PARKING: Parking and Transport Field Services Officer I Parking and Transport Field Services Officer I Clerk III-Front Counter Parking and Transport Field Services Officer I
July 5, 2018 Robert Scott Brad Anderson Kristina Sasse Emma King
April 2, 2018 April 2, 2018 October 8, 2018 November 5, 2018
15
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
Meet the
ATHLETIC LIAISON OFFICERS By Donteh. @iowastatedaily.com On football game days away, someone has to ensure the playbook gets from Ames to the other football stadium. That job is handled by ISU Police Lt. Elliott Florer and Officer Douglas Hicks. Their job title is football liaison officers, and their duties vary. The two are responsible for football team security during weekly activities, securing football equipment, and getting the playbook safely to that week’s opponent’s stadium. Hicks discussed how he got this job he loves. Growing up, Hicks played football in high school and junior college. He transferred to Iowa State, where he pursued his bachelor’s degrees in sociology and criminology. He worked in a student position for the ISU Police Department until he graduated and then worked for the Olathe Police Department in Kansas.
After a year he returned to Iowa State as an officer for the ISU Police Department. He worked traffic and tailgate lots on football game days. He loved this part of the job because it allowed him to fulfill both passions by still being close to football and serving the community as a police officer. When ISU Police Chief Michael Newton decided to add a second position to the football liaison job, which was solely handled by Florer, Hicks saw it as an opportunity. He got the job in 2017. The job can be segmented into two categories, he said. The first category, “cop stuff” he calls it, is more of the logistics side of the liaison position. The second category is the interpersonal side of the job, where Hicks and Florer get to know the players and coaches on a more personal level. Hicks detailed the “cop stuff” and described what a typical week looks like.
17
During the week the team has practice, works out and has numerous meetings. Hicks attends most of the team events to help create a “We before I” culture that the football team and Iowa State police have been building. The “We before I” phrase means choosing comradery above yourself and investing in the goals and aspirations of the community. For Hicks this means waking up and attending 5 a.m. practices some days to be right there with the guys through the grit and grind of the week. The game day routine begins on Friday, especially for games where the team is traveling. By noon police liaisons have made sure all the players and coaches’ playbooks and other team equipment have been secured and are ready to be transported to where they need to be for game day. Then they attend the team walkthroughs and meetings. Later that night they eat dinner with the team and stay at the same hotel. Then, it is game day. Depending on the kickof f time the team usuall y st ar ts its game day schedules earl y Sa turday mor ning, and the liaison of f icers are there ever y step of the way. They are with the team for morning team breakfast, escorting the players onto the field for kickoff, as well as post game, where various media
18
outlets are trying to meet with players. The two officers spend a lot of time with coaches and players, which creates relationships that go beyond enforcement. One example would be when the team was taking team pictures after winning the Alamo Bowl, and wide receiver Hakeem Butler and some other members of the team started waving toward Hicks to come join the team pictures and enjoy this special moment with them. These types of moments are what really makes the job worth doing, Hicks said. This leads to the second part of the job, which is the more personal side. The few breaks between X’s and O’s are where opportunity arises to get to know the athletes. The liaison officers often accompany the team on outings after practices. The officers get to interact with players in a normal setting and learn more about each player’s interests, family and other qualities. Hicks recalled a conversation with former captain and running back David Montgomery. They were in the training room talking about some of today’s social issues and Montgomery told Hicks how his job must be tough. With police brutality and violence cases occurring in the news, it does shade a bad light on police officers. Montgomery
ISUPD
mentioned how his relationship with the liaison officers and ISU Police Department is completely different than relationships he saw with police in his hometown. Hicks said these are the moments he loves because it is a chance to educate and learn. Talking with Montgomery
helped him realize that the players don’t just view them as police officers but also as another person they can discuss things with. Campbell and the rest of the football staff have granted the liaison officers access to all team facilities and welcome them to come by to chat about anything anytime.
19
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
The role of the
PARKING DIVISION By Erin.Cantrell @iowastatedaily.com With 16 student employees and four full-time employees under one supervisor, the ISU Parking Division has got you covered – mostly. It ser ves students on campus in three ways, and all ser vices are free. The division’s HelpVan assists students anywhere on Central Campus with a flat tire, bike locks, running out of gas, jump-starting vehicles. But what it can’t do is unlock your car. This is a misconception that Parking Division super visor Aaron Steffen wants to make clear. Students must contact the ISU Police Department specifically for that job, he said. This is due to the fact that unlocking cars comes with a high liability. The HelpVan runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Another ser vice the Parking Division helps fund is its SafeRide program, which is accompanied with a mobile app for campus ride requests. Operating every day from 6 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., SafeRide has offered a total of 21,812 rides throughout the last year. It’s not for the intoxicated and it’s not a taxi. The SafeRide program provides rides to people on campus who do not feel safe walking to their destination. The third ser vice the Parking Division provides – although students may not think this is a ser vice – is regulating parking. Writing tickets for illegal parking isn’t the public’s favorite part of the Parking Division’s duties, but it prevents campus parking lots and roads from being congested and keeps roads clear for buses and necessary campus traffic. “If you’re coming to campus without a permit, just assume you’ll get a ticket,” Steffen said. “Park at the commuter lot.”
21
Courtesy of Iowa State Daily
Parking tickets range in price from $15 to $200, and are a balance between keeping the price at a level that deters people from parking illegally and the need to make enough money to continue funding the Parking Division, Steffen said.
Parking permits can be turned in for a partial refund if students leave before their permit expires. What happens, though, is that students sometimes sell their permits to other students, Steffen said. But buyers need to be aware that permits are non-transferable.
Additionally, price comparisons with other universities are taken into account, but in the end, ticket prices are reccomended by the Transportation Advisory Council, which is composed of ISU students and staff.
Students who work for the Parking Division often are criminal justice majors, and these opportunities provide great experience for their future careers. Their work week is an average of 15 to 20 hours. To apply, students can fill out an application at the Parking Division’s front desk in the Armory.
22
WELFARE CHECKS Oftentimes, police must respond to welfare checks, a request that the police check on an individual due to concern about the individual’s safety and well-being. Here are the number of welfare checks from 2018 and which days of the week they occurred. Police try to be out of uniform and in everyday clothes for these calls when possible to make the individual feel more comfortable.
55
50
46 25
33
Sun
39 37 38
Mon
Tue
Wed
39
Thu
Fri
Total 287 calls
Sat
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
Connecting using
SOCIAL MEDIA By Caitlen.Jones @iowastatedaily.com
over the world, including France and China.
“My mantra when it comes to social media is, think twice, tweet once.” - Officer Anthony Greiter
Greiter focuses on three main types of use for social media: remind, engage and enhance.
ISU Police Officer Anthony Greiter is known as the mastermind behind the ISU Police Twitter Page. He is known for being able to bring forward serious topics in a humorous sense that grabs not just the attention of students, but also the world.
“In order to remind, I’m looking at how do we let people know about topics that exist that we’ve discussed elsewhere,” Greiter said. “On social media, we can enhance what we do and we can post articles about sexual assault response or how this can affect your community. For engage, we recognize that social media is not a billboard but a conversation. We don’t want to be the only ones talking. We want to allow our community to speak as well.”
For ISU Police Officers, Twitter is their number one way to get their funny yet sometimes serious messages across. With more than 37,000 followers, their tweets are a mixture of everything for everyone. They tweet important topics, but put their own funny spin on it; that way it appeals to many of the students, yet also the older audience. Many of his tweets have reached people from all
Even though Twitter is their main source of social media, ISU Police Officers also use Facebook and Instagram. Facebook is more targeted toward family members of the students,
25
such as parents or guardians. Greiter said Instagram is the largest growing overall social media for students, but it’s not set up to receive information as fast as Twitter or Facebook. “Instagram gives us a lot of opportunities to have a positive impact on the law enforcement culture, spreading that out around our community. But, because of the way Instagram is set up, it doesn’t necessarily give us the greatest opportunity to push out immediate information,” Greiter said. The main social media strategy is humor Greiter said. From tweets anywhere from vaping, to drunk driving, to texting your ex, they get the message across with the use of humor. “If we don’t use humor, we lose people,” Greiter said. Humor helps the Iowa State community of 36,000 students feel safe and relaxed when humor comes from a law enforcement official. “There is more to life than likes. What we want is engagement,” Greiter said. “So, the likes, RT’s, shares, regrams, etc., are excellent. But our primary focus is getting people engaged with law enforcement.” Engagement is popular on social media, but also in person. Greiter said that many of the officers get approached by students on a regular basis to talk and praise them about the social media accounts.
26
“To me that’s a huge win, because somebody who probably wouldn’t have approached law enforcement before is now coming up to have a positive conversation and interaction with a cop. That’s amazing.” Greiter said. The humor not only lets students feel safe and relaxed, but also helps prepare for the time when serious events occur. If students find the tweets funny, Greiter hopes they are going to be more in tune and will be watching the profile more closely. “My real goal with the humor is that people will be paying attention, so that when we have an active shooter or we have a massive event, and I need to spread a message across social media, they’re already watching us,” Greiter said. “They are waiting for us to send out our next funny thing, and we can get the important message out quickly.” Asked when the line is drawn between funny and serious topics, Greiter said, “It’s a challenge. I’m willing to push my limits to the point that I’m still safe and we’re doing good work but that we are relevant and reach out to our audience.” While Greiter mainly runs the accounts, he also has some backup help from other officers and even a “secret weapon:” he hired a student intern to help write the tweets. “Social media never sleeps, and neither do we,” Greiter said. “The two of us work pretty tirelessly to stay up on trends, to stay relevant, and to push that information out to our community in a timely manner.”
TOP TWEETS Engaging with the community through Twitter opens doors to conversation with community members who otherwise might not approach police officers.
OUTREACH AT A GLANCE
IN 2018
ISUPD PROVIDED
356 OUTREACH EVENTS
REACHING OVER
49,000
PEOPLE
ISU POLICE ARE STOPPING CRIME AND PROVIDING RESOURCES TO STUDENTS
WITH DONUTS AS THEIR BEST WEAPON
“YOU CAN SEE AN
IMMEDIATE
IMPACT IN PEOPLE’S LIVES BECAUSE WE’RE
PROVIDING LIFE-CHANGING
AND
LIFE-ALTERING INFORMATION
IN A POSITIVE,
LIGHT-HEARTED WAY.”
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
Start by
BELIEVING By Caitlen.Jones @iowastatedaily.com Dying your hair teal with a ribbon shaved in the back is not something a person does in their everyday life. But in April 2018, ISU Police Chief Michael Newton and Lt. Elliott Florer wanted to go a step further to show the Ames community that they’re serious about taking a stance against sexual assault. Not only in April, but every day. Start by Believing is a communitywide initiative to change the response that communities have when someone reports being sexually assaulted. The first Wednesday of every April is the annual Start by Believing Day, and April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. ISU Police have made it a priority to host an event on campus every Start
by Believing Day to show and inform students what all Start by Believing entails. For the last four years, ISU Police have been stationed outside Parks Library during Start by Believing Day to show students what all Start by Believing is. Newton decided to dye his hair teal April 2018 to show support for sexual assault survivors. “I wanted to let the community know that we’re here to support,” Newton said. We want more people to come forward and report sexual assault; it’s a very underreported crime.” A study done by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service says that more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault. Newton said it’s because many people believe that no one will believe them.
31
ISUPD
“A lot of times when you talk to people who haven’t come for ward and you hear about it years later, it’s because they didn’t think they were going to be believed and anyone was going to listen to them,” Newton said. When someone comes for ward about a sexual assault at Iowa State, Newton said they first start by believing what the victim is telling them. They listen, they are empathetic, and then they go to where the evidence takes them along the process. “We’re going into 21 years now that we have run the Stor y Countr y Sexual Assault Response Team, so we’ve been just really ingrained in this community and teaching people about sexual assault and the awareness around it,” Newton said.
32
Adapting Start by Believing to educate the students of Iowa State and the overall community has been very rewarding. Newton said that besides doing educational efforts in 2018, ISU Police also changed the patches on their uniforms to teal (originally red), and officers wore patches signifying that they were in support of sexual assault awareness. The ISU Police also signed a proclamation in 2018, saying that they believe in this philosophy and they’re going to incorporate it into the things they do at Iowa State. Asked if he has done anything like this [dying his hair] in the past, Newton laughed and said, “Like as far as dying and shaving my hair? No. It’s just important and we want to show our support to all kinds of victims, but sexual assault definitely impacts people very differently than many crimes.”
“I WANTED TO LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE’RE HERE TO SUPPORT. WE WANT MORE PEOPLE TO COME FORWARD AND REPORT SEXUAL ASSAULT, IT’S A VERY UNDER REPORTED CRIME” -CHIEF MICHAEL NEWTON
ISUPD
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
Guardian vs. Warrior
MENTALITY By Lacey.Westburg @iowastatedaily.com The warrior role of police is oftentimes misunderstood and usually only used in times that call for immediate action. However, it is not the role that the ISU Police Department wants its officers to have. “People have this image of a warrior in their heads because of the military,” ISU Police Chief Michael Newton said. “But originally, when law enforcement was conceptualized, it was looking at policing the citizens of the United States and being the guardians to protect them, rather than being the warriors who may threaten or scare them.” Many people believe that law enforcement can be scary or otherwise intimidating. The negative connotations of law enforcement
stem from a long history of misrepresentation of communities and misunderstandings. That view also can come from the militarization of law enforcement that has happened in recent years. While there are some cases in which police officers need to be warriors, Newton wants his department to emphasize the guardian side of the equation. Newton said that a big part of the idea of the police switching from the guardians to being viewed as more like warriors happened when such things as the war on drugs and war on terrorism began. “The truth is that we are really supposed to be the protectors of our community in partnership with it,” Newton said. “Not just against the community, but with the community.”
35
“WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GUARDIANS OF THE COMMUNITY, PROTECTING THE COMMUNITY.
IT’S A PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL OF THE CITIZENS AND THAT IS WHERE THE GUARDIAN MINDSET COMES INTO PLAY.” -CHIEF MICHAEL NEWTON
At Iowa State students are constantly cycling through, creating a need for the ISU Police Department to be continuously building relationships with the new people. Newton said that was one of the main differences between the Ames Police Department and the ISU Police Department, which constantly needs to build new relationships with the freshmen coming in every year. The Ames Police Department has a fairly steady community and trust between the officers and residents. Although these two departments are different and handle different communities, Newton said both are driven by their communities, causing them to have a great partnership. Iowa State University has about 6,000 new students coming in every year, and it’s the police department’s job to gain their trust. Most communities remain fairly consistent with demographics and age ranges of populations, but Iowa State communities are ever changing. “The whole premise is that we are supposed to be the guardians of the community, protecting the community,” Newton said. “It’s a partnership with all of the citizens, and that is where the guardian mindset comes into play.” Newton said the department strives to build mutually beneficial relationships with the whole community of Iowa State.
38
“This goes into our guardian mindset of ‘I have this entirely new group of people that I have to gain the trust of. How do I do that?’” he said. The ISU Police Department tackled this question head on developing a team dedicated to community outreach called the Engagement and Inclusion Officer (EIO). The EIO is focused on establishing relationships and a sense of community extending from the police department to the students and faculty. The ISU Police Department’s ultimate goal is to build positive and lasting relationships within the community in order to have someone that citizens can trust and feel comfortable calling in their time of need, rather than them being afraid of the police. The police department wants to be each student’s friend, and they have attempted to do that by doing social events such as “Donut Disrespect” and their comic approach to social media, which pairs humor with reaching out to students to spread knowledge and awareness of things happening on campus. “All of those [activities and outreach programs] are pieces of building the fact that we are all in this together. This is a community effort,” Newton said. “We can’t do this job without the community, and the community can’t be safe without us. So that’s where 21st century policing comes in. We are truly here to be partners.”
PEAK CALL TIMES The police get and respond to calls for service at all hours of the day, all days of the week. The charts below illustrate what times of the day and which days of the week that are most popular for officer-involved events.
EVENTS BY HOUR 1000
750
500
4:00
3:00
2:00
1:00
23:00
00:00
22:00
21:00
19:00
20:00
17:00
18:00
16:00
15:00
14:00
13:00
12:00
11:00
9:00
10:00
8:00
7:00
6:00
0
5:00
250
EVENTS BY DAY 2800
2100
1400
700
0
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Isaiah Johnson/Iowa State Daily
Choose
YOUR RIDE By Robert.Delt @iowastatedaily.com For decades, television, radio, billboard and newspaper advertisements have warned the public about the dangers of drinking and driving. For a student to arrive at Iowa State University without having been exposed to the message in one form or another, seems unlikely. So, when the ISU Police Department launched its own sober driving campaign, some may have wondered, “What’s the point?” ISU Police Chief Michael Newton explained that his department’s “Choose Your Ride” campaign is an attempt to deliver the familiar message in a not so familiar way. “When people hear something often enough, there is a risk that the message
loses its impact” said Newton. “We wanted to make sure we delivered the message in a memorable way that would draw attention - especially in locations where people are faced with the immediate decision of how they will get home after drinking.” The entire campaign is built upon a cleverly painted squad car that appears to be half police vehicle and half taxi cab. The “Choose Your Ride” car was unveiled at Jack Trice Stadium at the start of the last football season. If attention was the goal of the campaign, it would appear the initiative was an instant success. “The vehicle turns heads,” declared Officer Anthony Greiter, who serves as Community Outreach Specialist for the department. “ Many people take a second look and smile at the concept. Those who read the fine print and recognize the meaning behind the
41
BE A FAN
IN THE STANDS PUBLIC
132 INTOX 1ST, 2ND, & 3RD OFFENSE
121 OWI 1ST, 2ND, & 3RD OFFENSE
299
POSSESSION OR PURCHASE OF ALCOHOL UNDERAGE
NOT A PAIN
IN THE GRASS
ISUPD
design often give us a “thumbs up” or thank us for spreading the message.” Greiter indicated that feedback from Iowa State has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s difficult to count the number of crimes that are prevented through a campaign like this.” said Greiter, “But, the social awareness has been shown to be present through social media posts by community members and in-person praise we’ve received.” Where the department places the vehicle throughout the year has been an important part of the campaign strategy. The vehicle has been parked in a number of locations
across campus to gain visibility. “From football and basketball games to hotspots on campus, we’ve used the vehicle to attract attention anywhere alcohol consumption may be present or individuals will see it and be impacted” shared Gretier. The Community Outreach Specialist made it clear that a marketing campaign can only accomplish so much. He noted the many important roles community members play in keeping intoxicated drivers off the streets. From CyRide to responsible bar and restaurant servers, Greiter summed it up by saying, “We’re all in this together as a community.”
43