UR Security will relocate its headquarters to the Service and Facilities Building on the River Campus from its current location in the Towne House on Mt. Hope Avenue.
The move is projected for the beginning of next year and is part of a university-wide rearrangement of the administrative offices of several departments.
“What students are going to see is a lot more patrol and officers around the River Parking Lot, Hill Court and Towers because that’s where officers will be working from,” Director of UR Security Walter Mauldin said. “Officers will be actually be sharing the same parking lot as students.”
The decision was reached after discussions involving UR President Joel Seligman, Associate Vice President for University Facilities and Services Richard Pifer and other senior university staff.
The Towne House, which has served as security headquarters for the past 20 years, will become the offices of the University Facilities and Services Department upon Security’s departure, according to Mauldin.
Satellite UR Security offices at Strong Memorial Hospital, the Eastman School of Music and the Community Living Center will remain in their current locations.
The new location will house offices and facilities for a staff composed of 85 members in the different branches of security including the patrol, investigative and administrative units of the department.
“I think the change is not going to make much of a difference in terms of service because security is on patrol all the time, regardless of where the headquarters is located,” senior Carlos Rodriguez said. “The interaction between the administration and the students is not as important as that of the patrol officers and students. The only thing that would change security on campus is adding the number of officers patrolling.”
In the last six months, security has stepped up its efforts to increase safety on the River Campus. They have added patrol officers to the Fraternity Quad on weekends and the parking lots on weeknights. New officers have also been hired and are currently fulfilling training requirements, which include 10 weeks of basic training and six to eight months of additional preparation.
This enables the new officers to learn the intricacies of the buildings on the River Campus, according to Mauldin.
“The new location will put us much closer to people we serve and we will get to know more about what’s going on around the culture of the campus,” Mauldin said. “It’s very much a win-win deal.” Fernandez can be reached at mfernandez@campustimes.org.
