CSUN Police in Uphill Battle

The police force at Cal State Northridge, with just one cruiser in service, provides inadequate protection for the university’s 27,000 students, campus officials say.

The shortage of cars grew from a CSUN policy of keeping patrol vehicles until they fall apart, because replacing them is a low budget priority.

University officials adhere to a philosophy that campus police should operate as a service-oriented agency that favors foot and bike patrols over cruisers.

“I get a little concerned when we emphasize cars and motorcycles,” said Ron Kopita, CSUN vice president of academic affairs. Kopita, who oversees the police force, said, “I’m not totally convinced we need a fleet of cars.”

Still, Kopita, who called CSUN a safe campus despite acknowledging it has faced some dangerous situations this year, said, “Having one car is clearly unacceptable.”

A campus of CSUN’s size should have at least four patrol cars, administrators said.

The car shortage coincides with the long-delayed installation of campus safety devices, called “blue lights.” The student-funded lights mark 25 emergency call boxes, which are expected to be operating by the end of this month.

Although campus police say overall crime has gone down each of the past few years, the loss of three patrol cars due to mechanical failure and an accident comes at a time of heightened safety concerns on the Northridge campus.

Several crimes on or near the school this fall jarred the campus community. Two on-campus incidents in September--the assault of a student at a dormitory after a pool party and the robbery of two visitors’ necklaces outside a school dance--are believed to have been gang-related, Acting CSUN Police Chief Marcus Hissong said.

In both cases, police said, the assailants demanded to know the victims’ gang affiliations. When the victims denied being gang members, they were attacked. During the pool party assault, the attackers made statements indicating they might have been gang members, Hissong said.

Police said no arrests have been made in the pool party assault. In the other case, police said the assailants who robbed two men leaving the dance were arrested after they drove away from the campus. Officers found one of the stolen necklaces in the assailants’ car, police said.

About two weeks ago, three young men seen cruising a parking lot were stopped by CSUN police after they left campus. Police said two handguns were seized.

Two other unrelated off-campus incidents, handled by Los Angeles police, included the beating of a former CSUN football player who had stopped his car to help two women allegedly being hassled by a pair of men. And an 18-year-old man who was driving home after visiting a friend on campus was wounded after being chased by assailants in a car.

With only one patrol car now available, CSUN Police Sgt. Steven Johnston said officers worry they lack the equipment and speed needed to handle dangerous situations.

“Right now we have problems responding to things,” Johnston said.

The lack of patrol cars stems in part from years of budget decisions to put off replacing the vehicles--which cost about $30,000 each--until they had deteriorated so badly the cars had to be junked, often without warning. Officials blame this on the current shortage, which police say has been a problem for about a month.

Cars have become so worn out, police say, that officers have reported dangerous situations in which wheels have fallen off moving vehicles. Four years ago a broken driver’s seat in a patrol car had to be propped up by wedging a cooler behind it, police said.

“We’re not high on the budget list,” Hissong said.

Hissong said he is trying to lease two patrol cars from the state. Even if funding is approved, it would take until at least February to have two 1999 model patrol vehicles delivered, he said.

The third out-of-commission car, disabled by an accident with a drunk driver, is being repaired after several weeks of non-operation. A measure of the department’s desperation: A rental car provided by the driver’s insurance company is being used to run errands, Hissong said.

Two motorcycles, used only during the day shift, and an unmarked detective car fill out the fleet.

Hissong, who is running the department while a search committee hunts for a permanent chief, said the loss of vehicles affords the opportunity to encourage more foot patrols. The university also has several donated bicycles that can be used by officers.

But Johnston said while foot patrols can be effective, they limit officers’ ability to mobilize for serious incidents. Foot or bike patrols, for instance, would have been useless in chasing the men who had guns in their cars, he said.

In addition to the car shortage, the department has been short of officers. Three officers were sworn in about a week ago.

*

The new hires bring the force to 19 sworn officers including the chief, a lieutenant, two sergeants and two detectives. Earlier this year the force had dropped to about 15 officers.

Kopita said the police force, much as the rest of the university, suffered from budget cuts in the early ‘90s, and is slowly coming back. He said 20 or 21 officers is the goal.

Even with the new hires, the CSUN force is below that of other comparable CSU schools.

Michael Lordanich, the Cal State system administrator of police and chief of police at Cal State Dominguez Hills, said some schools have forces ranging from the mid- to high-20s.

For instance, San Diego State, with 30,000 students, has nine patrol cars and 24 officers, a spokeswoman said.

At Dominguez Hills, which has 12,000 students, police have three patrol cars, an unmarked detective car and three motorcycles, Lordanich said.

The decision on the size of the force is made at the campus level, Lordanich said.

“I would be more comfortable if we had more officers,” Kopita said. “I am comfortable with the fact we have a safe campus.”